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PC MAGAZINE LIBRARY 

“ REF ^NCE COPX , 

DO NOT REMOVE 
FROM THIS ROOM 


TANDARD Pi;RSONALrOMPirr|NG $2»5/$3.95 canaim* lOREKiN 


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MAGAZINE 


12 New Portables 
Hit the Road- 
Pick Your Price 
And Performance 


■ 5 Mass-Storage 
Devices: 
WORMs That 
Really Work 


VOLUME 7 
MARCH 29. 1988 



0 71486 02391 J 


■ 14 High-Resolution, 
Big-Screen Monitors 
For Desktop Publishing 
And All Applications 






Ouattro: 

Twice the speed. 
Twice the power. 
Haif the price. 


Tot 5l 




\ 

Ouattro: The Professional Spreadsheet 

Copyrighted me — f 




m2 1117 

LOTUS 1-2-r ausmu' 

half the price of 1-2-3. It's com- 
patible with all your existing 
1-2-3 files— but it makes every- 
thing in them look better, print 
better, and makes your work go 
faster. 


Get Quattro, the pro- 
fessional spreadsheet 
for only $199.95 
Ouatlro is so advanced it’s 
easy to use. and it’s less than 


nro ms 

HAMD-HiLD CALCULAWB miCALC* 


Quattro: The Professional Spreadsheet 


FEATURE 

QUATTRO 

LOTUS 

2.01 

§ 

ReCalc Cash Flow Model (5K cellsj 

.27 

2.%sec. 

Delete Row 15K cells (Recalc Time) 

.76 ate. 

2.38 sec. 

Load File (15K cells) 

15.9 tcc. 

19.8 sec. 

Page Down (A1 to A1000) 

12.2 $K. 

17.4 sec. 

1 GBAPHICS 1 

Presentation-quality Graphics 

YES 

NO 

Graph Types 

10 

6 

Integrated Graph Printing 

YES 

NO 

Full Graph Customoation 

YES 

NO 

On-Screen Font Styles 

11 

1 

PostScript Support 

YES 

NO 

fc 

C 

User-modifiable Menus 

YES 

NO 

Menu Shortcuts 

YES 

NO 

Pull-down menus 

YES 

NO 

Point and Press Editing 

YES 

NO 

Automatic Installation 

YES 

NO 

POWCR 1 

Macro Learn Mode 

YES 

NO 

Maximum Number of Macros 

UalimlM 

27 

Single Step Macro Debugging Environment 

YES 

NO 


Price 

2199.95 

S495 


Benchmark details available upon request. 60-Day Money-Back Guarantee * 



BORLAND 

INTfPNATIONAi 


For the dealer nearest you, 
a brochure, or to order now, 


Call (800) 543-7543 


i 


-o:4 



N D 


M 


M O R 


r'-n,il 

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Joe was one of those leading 
edge kind of guys. 

But most of his reports and sales 
presentations looked like they were 
done on a typewriter. 

It was a case of 21st century computer 
thinking trapped in a 1935 typeface. 

, / Joe knew if he was ever going to be a 
success he’d have to control his LaserJet.' 

One jet jockey’s quest to be 
captain of his ship. 

The following day was spent 
scouring the computer stores 
for a way to upgrade. But to 
no avaU. Until he stepped 
through the door of one of 
those high-tech boutiques. 

“Sure, JetWare™ makes iC 
the bearded guru replied to 
Joe’s query. “Their fonts are 
designed by technology specialists, 
not hardware manufacturers” 

Real typefaces deliver the 
Laser's edge. 

When Joe left the store his arms 
were piled high with JetFont™ cartridges. 

There were cartridges for upgrading his 
LaserJet from typewriter faces to real faces- 
like Helvetica Bold for headlines and Times 
Roman for body copy. 

There was a cartridge that would bring 
smiles to his company’s overseas offices. It had 
all the international characters on it. There 
was even a JetWare cartridge that had all the 
classic spreadsheet fonts. 

And JetWare fonts had the look of typeset. 
They were cleaner, more consistent and came 
with attractive proportional spacing as well 
as fixed pitch. 

This was the stuff of which heroes were 
made. And they were fully compatible and 
backed by the reliability of CPI. 

Lotica reduces Lotus spreadsheets 
to letter size. 

But what really made Joe the talk of the 
office was his discovery of Jet Ware’s new 123’" 





cartridge that lets you 
squeeze 40,000 characters 
on a single 8'/2 x 11 sheet. 

It helped shrink the job of doing 
1-2-3” spreadsheets down to size. 
The secret of its success was “Lotica” 
a special typeface designed by JetWare 
that was so sharp it could be almost 
infinitely reduced and still be legible. 

Now that was space age! It meant 
the end of the dot matrix printer 
and all the cut and paste nonsense 
that went with it. 

Joe was so hyped, he wanted to 
do more. His mind turned to 
graphics. But to accomplish 
what he wanted, he knew he’d 
have to find a way to get more 
memory into his LaserJet. 

JetWare’s incredible 
shrinkins technology 
expands memory, 
improves reliability. 

There it was right on 
the shelf. One of the hot- 
test new products to hit 
the market. JetMemory.'" 

JetWare had reinterpreted 
the memory card. Shrunk it 
down to size. And with the help of surface 
mount techiiology, they managed to get two 
cards to fit into the space HP had allotted for 
one. You could add memory without discarding 
expensive memory cards. 

It was maximum economy. 

The bright future. 

JetFont, JetMemory and Joe. 

With every new success Joe’s fame grows. 
They know him from the tall towers of corporate 
headquarters where they pour over his 
spreadsheets and plan strategic takeovers ... to 
the tranquil field office in India where they 
meditate on the beauty of Joe’s stylish pitches. 

Now, wherever intelligence, fortitude and 
perseverance are appreciated, they talk of Joe. 
The man they CEill “Captain Jet’.’ 



lUlunl 

* *TVwirin4rti of l.iii us 


■ COMPl’TER PERIPHERALS INC. //// 


CIRCLE 158 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


If .let Wan? products haven’t landed in your area, 
call (800) 854-7600. In California (805) 499-5751 
or write 667 Rancho Conejo Blvd, 
Newbiury Park.CA91320. 



S E R 






The Fast Cure 
For A Slowing 
Hard Disk 



“Vopt It something of a 
miracle. It performs Its disk 
reorganization chorea In 
seconds, Instead of the 
minutes and even hours some 
other utilities can take. 

...a bargain, Vopt Is fast, sale, 
effective, and even fun to use. 
What more could you want?" 


Glenn Hart, PC Magazine 
May 12, 1987, Page 36. 


"The overall elfIclerKy of my 
computer system was signifi- 
cantly Improved." 

William G. Harrington, 

The National Law Journal 
June 29, 1987, Page 14. 

Vopt gives you faster hard disk 
access in seconds! 

When DOS creates a file, it 
scatters file fragments over the 
disk surfaces. It takes time to 
collect those fragments when you 
need the data, so your system 
runs slower and slower as your 
files grow more fragmented. 

Vopt organizes your files the way 
DOS should have written them— 
contiguously— so file retrieval is 
easy and fast! 


$49.95 


$3 shipping/handling. 
CA add 6% sales tax. 


GOLDEN BOW SYSTEMS 



2870 Rflh Avenue 
Suite 201 

San Diego, CA 92103 

800/284-3269 


Yopf op«rat 08 with DOS systems, inducting 
PS/2, with 512Kb RAM. 

Vopt is a trademarit ot Qoidan Bow Systems. 


V O L f M E 7 N f M B E R 6 

What’s inside 



Good news for PC us- 
ers who travel: there’s 
a whole new crop of 
portable computers 
that raise the stan- 
dards of power, 
speed, and self-suffi- 
ciency. 

Topping the list 
are exciting 386s 
from Compaq and 
GRiD, and updates of 
revered favorites 
from Toshiba, NEC, 
and Zenith. Rounding 
out the roster are of- 
ferings from Dolch, 

Sharp, Kaypro, HP, 
and Epson. The result 
is a startling range of 
choices for the buy- 
er — with the tiny, economical Toshiba 
TIOOO at one end of the spectrum, the 
techno-deluxe GRiD at the other, and, in 
the middle, innovations in memory capaci- 
ty, storage, displays, and design. 

With power now rivaling, and in some 
cases surpassing, that of a standard AT, 
the new portables could be all the comput- 
er you need. Beginning on page 93, our 
editors review the latest luggables, porta- 
bles, and laptops, telling you which ones 
to snap up and which to avoid. 

BLACK-AND-WHITE BONANZA Big 

monitors for desktop publishing are flood- 
ing the market, and black-and-whites are 
the most popular of all. CADD users have 
also Jumped on the monochrome band- 
wagon, and now we’re finding out that 
these large-screen monitors — with their 
hi-res crispness and clarity — are great for 
word processing, spreadsheet, and other 
general applications. The manufacturers 
know it too, and they’re providing better 
drivers for Windows and the big-name 
apps as well as CADD and DTP programs. 

In this issue, contributing editor Frank 


Bican rounds up the latest mono marvels 
and compares them with his last monitor 
review (“Screen Gems,” PC Magazine. 
November 24. 1987) to see how far 
they’ve come. Bican’s experience in pro- 
duction and typesetting, along with his ev- 
eryday troubleshooting as PC coordinator 
of a large medical facility, makes him ide- 
ally suited to the task. 

Bican also wrote the story on WORM 
(write-once, read-mostly) optical disks, in 
which he concludes that maybe, just may- 
be, WORMs are ready for prime time. 
They’re still expensive, and some are still 
glitch-ridden, but the best are worth look- 
ing at, especially for mass-storage capacity 
and backup applications. His report begins 
on page IW. 

Productivity section home correspon- 
dence students should get your capes and 
caps ready for graduation as we present the 
fourth and final installment of our course 
in laser printer operation: creating custom 
graphics. We’re also proud to introduce 
Douglas Boling, making his debut with a 
memory-resident calculator that’s small in 
size and big on features . HQ 


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Napcw.PO Bo*'ta09).BouUrr.a>HU2)-«a9) 


ORCLE 369 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
4 








. verything it takes to add 
PostScript to your LaserJet II, 
including HP’s Messing. 


Hewlett-Packard' and QMS’ have made it easy 
to give your LaserJet Series IF the desktop 
publishing power of the PostSaipt* page de- 
scription language. 

The new QMS JetSaipt” 

JetScript is the only Adobe PostScript 
controller upgrade authorized by HP and de- 
signed specifically for the LaserJet Series II. 
JetScript gives your printer the industry- 
standard page description language to accom- 
pany HPs PCL printer language. This expands 
your laser printing capabilities. Increases over- 
all printer performance. Yet preserves HP func- 
tionality and warranties. 



Doitjmarself JetScript is easy to install. Just 
plug in two cards (one in your personal com- 
puter*, the other in your printer), connect a 
cable and install the software. 

The result is a PostScript system with 35 
resident Adobe typefaces, three megabytes (rf 
RAM, and QMS ASAP™ (Advanced System 
Architecture for PostScript) proprietary tech- 
nology for superior performcmce. All for less 
than half the cost of a new PostScript laser 
printer. 


New forms of expression The speed and 
power of JetScript combine to give your LaserJet 
Series II a form of expression that’s found only 
with PostScript 

Simply, PostScript opens up the full range 
of possibilities for desktop publishing. You 
have complete control over the final look of the 
page, down to the last exacting detail. PostScript 
allows for an infinite number of font variations 
and sizes. That makes PostScript’s limitless 
flexibility and power the perfect complement to 
your LaserJet Series II, giving you the high- 
quality oufout you require. 

ImpreMivereMltx Ftople have come to expect 
impressive results from QMS — one of the first 
companies to bring the power of PostScript to 
laser printing, and now with more PostScript- 
based products than any other company. 

You’ll get the same results from the new 
JetScript After all, it has HP’s blessing. 

Laser Connection is a sales and marketing 
subsidiary of QMS. Call 1 - 800 - 523-2696 for 
the location of your netirest L<iser Connection 
dealer. 

•JetScrifit available for IBM K-Xr, IBMPC-Ar. HPVectra'" 
ard conyaatS>k personal cornputers, orthelBMPS^ModdSO. 


IKE LASER 

'^connGCTion™ 

AQMS'Compamj 

CIRCLE 259 ON READER SERVICE CARD 

Tbe IbIkTwingBre trademarks of their respective companies: HI* Hevdett-Phckard. 
LaserJet Series II. HP V^ra of Hewtett-P^kard. QMS. JetScript. ASAR Laser 
Connection of QMS. Inc. PostScript of Adobe Systems. IBM PC-XT IBM PC-AT 
artd IBM PS/2 of Internationa) Bu^ness Machines Corp. 


®1987 Laser Conrtection 


1 


:4 . 




KKvn Ri;s 




MONITORS 

Black-and- White Monitors: 
The Designer Collection 
Frank Bican/ Bold new 
monitors with crisp displays are 
finding good homes with 
aficionados of desktop 
publishing and CADD 
software. Spreadsheet and 
word precessing users arc 
taking notice of all of the 
advantages they offer, too. We 
compare new offerings from 
Conographic, Cornerstone, 
Micro Display, Monitemi, 
NEC Home Electronics, and 
Princeton Graphic Systems to 
see how they stack up against 
our previous favorites from 
Sigma Designs, Taxan, Wyse, 
Thomson, and others 147 

Your picture here: Mack* 
and-white monitors come 
clean for CADD, desktop 
publishing, and many 
other applications, 
page 147. 


MASS-STORAGE 

DEVICES 

The Worm Turns 

Frank Bican/ We’ve been 
keeping an eye on optical disks, 
and it looks as if they’re finally 
here to stay. To help you 
choose, we put five of the 
newest WORMs through their 
paces to compare performance. 
The contenders are Information 
Storage’s ISI 525 WC, 
Maximum Storage’s APX- 
3000, Micro Design 
International's LaserBank 800, 
Symphony Systems’ N/Hance 
525 Optical Disk System, and 
the Optotech 5984 199 

CONNECTIVITY 
Making Connections: 
Northern Telecom’s 
Meridian LANStar PC 

Frank J. De/fler, Jr. I The 
Connectivity Labs tests the 
Meridian LANStar PC, a low- 
cost LAN that shines in big 
installations and offers a 
gateway to ISDN, too 227 

Cover Photograph: 

Roberto Brosan 


Planes, Trains, and 
Automobiles: 12 Portables 
for the Road 

Nora GeorgasI Bigger disks, 
more memory, and faster 
processors give power to the 
portables. Compaq, Dolch, and 
GRID offer machines that’ll 
definitely put your desktop 
system to shame; NEC, 
Toshiba, and Zenith make a 
good thing even better; Kaypro 
makes the leap to EGA; Epson, 
Sharp, and Hewlett-Packard 
round out the list, putting 
their best feet forward . . . 93 


( ()\ ER STORY 


ft 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
6 







MET THE 




Some nine-wire dot matrix printers hide from the competi- 
tion. Not the new Citizen™ MSP- 50. 

With the ability to handle all types of paper, top or bottom feed, 
and a convertible push or pull tractor, it figured it Wcis the best. How- 
ever, another printer had designs on the title. 

So the MSP-50 relied on its high speed, up to 300 cps, to crush 
the competition. But it wasn't enough. Feature by feature these two 
contenders battled. Quiet mode. 240 dpi graphics. Color capability. 
Choice of fonts. Front pcinel feature controls. Even compatibility with 
most major software.'niey were ecjual. Finally, the MSP-50 put its 
80-column print width on the line. Unfortunately the other machine 
offered 136. 

What was the other machine? The new Qtizen MSP-55. Which 
just goes to prove that if you want to be considered one of the best, 
you have to be a Qtizen in good standing. 

For more information oil 1-800-556-1234, Ext. 34. In California 
call 1-800-441-2345, Ext. 34. w fy •■-p 

01987 Qtizxn America Oxporation. A i A i T i X ^ 

Qtizen and the Citizen loeo are crademarks of t i.i i i i 

QtizenWatch Co., Ltd. rnntcrs that run like clockwork. 


\ 




CIRCLE 114 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



"The Breakthru 286 perprmed flawies^y ecvry appH- 
cation vx handed it, induding cof^pndecied programs and 
nine tnemory-rrsideTa utilities id once." 

S teph m Manes PC Ma^iane 

"...die Breakthru 286 was the card of choke." 

PC B gain eaSc^twareview (Rated #1) 


"...BreaMiru 286 is a good value and a quddy product tacked 
ty effective suf^jort." 

Dan A. Cfiffin 

The Newsletler ct the AutoCAD Uao's Group 
"The PCSC Breakthru 286 achieved the best p erfor m a n ce 
results of the caching baanb tested." 

TU Ktiedd. PC ledt )aumal (Rated II) 


"The 12-MHz Breakthru 286-12 speedup boani is the fastest 
of those tested, but not the most eqxnsivt On a dollar per- 
horsepower basis, dcouidbecalledthecheapestboostacaila- 
Hejbron XT’ 

Mafk VMdi. II«b^farid (Rated #1) 


Think \bu Need an AT? 

Make Your IBM PC Faster Than an AT in Just 5 Minutes! 


Accelerator Cards; Speed and Value 

SpMd tigwes are consolidated results from 10 tests at 
performance (See Accelerator Boards Special Report. 

December 1. 1980) 


□ Microspeed Fast 88 

$149 

□ Microsoft Mach 10 

$395 

□ Univation Dream Board 

$512 

□ Orchid Turbo EGA 

$945 

□ ST&D Standard 266 

$995 

□ Oassic Speedpack 

$995 

□ Orchid PC-Turbo 286e 

$1,195 

□ BreakUini 266-12 

$595 



REPRINTED FROM INFOWORLD, APRIL 27, 1987 


Breakthru 286-8MHz-$395 
Breakthru 286-12MHz-$595 


LIGHTNING™— FREE with Breakthru 
speedup hardware— $89.95 purchased separately 


We are exdted about our three speedup 
fducts. \bu probably know about our 
jhtning disk access speedup software 
that was awarded PC Magazine's Best of 
1986 award (see box). After the smashing 
success of Lightning, in late '86, we 

But, no speedup board cuts disk 
access time in half 

LIGHTNING 


software can • $89J5 or FREE w/Breakthni 

"Lightning is a/most mandatory....'' - 
Steve Manes, PC Magazine 
Best of 66 review 

Loads with Ihe DOS - always ready as a bact^und 
program to accelerate disk access. \t)u do nothing 
ei/^ing is automatic Programs that frequently ac- 
cess the disk (hard or floppy) are made instantly up 
to 2 to 4 tirnes faster Uses a principle greatly enlm:8d 
from mainfrarTte technology call^ caching. Fully ex- 
ploits Above Board memory 

LXoHTf^MNG is the standard against which 
all our competition rneasuies itsel because v« a^ 
universal compatibility with other softvyare. Data Is 
never lost. Order UGHTNNG separatelyor 
it free with your Breakthru 286 board. 


gUi 

Bte 


aranteed the Breakthni 286 board to be 
Sterally the most advanced, fastest, most 
feature-rich board available. The runaway 
success it has enjoyed truly proved that 
assertion. Now we go ourselves one bet- 
ter with the Breakthru 286-12. This new 
board has the dock speed cranked up from 
8 to 12 MHz for speeds up to 10.2 times 
faster than an IBM PC. It is 50% faster than 
an 8MHz IBM AT, and up to a whopping 
1,000% faster than a regular PC. 

HERE'S WHY THESE TWO BOARDS 
ARE SO SPECIAL 

First, they install so easily. A half-slot 
card means you don't even have to give up 
a full slot. What's 
more, unlike 
competing 


pr 

M( 



products it works in the Compaa Portable 
and most clones. Easy diagrams snow how 
you just place the card in an open slot, 
remove the original processor and connect 
a single cable. There is no software re- 
quired. From that moment you are run- 
ning faster than an AT. 

Second, they are advanced. The 
BREAKTHRU 286 replaces the CPU of the 
PC or XT with an 80286 microprocessor 
that is foster than the one found in the AT. 
Has a 80287 math coprocessor slot for 
numeric intensive applications. A 16K 
cache memory provides zero-wait-access 
to the most recently used code and data. 
Speed switching software allows you to 
drop back to a lower speed on the fly for 
timing sensitive applications. 

Third, you have M compatibility. All ex- 
isting system RAM, hardware, and 
peripheral cards can be used without soft- 
ware modification. Our boards operate 
with LAN and mainframe communication 
iroducts and conform to the Expanded 
lemory Specification (EMS). Software 
compatibility is virtually universal. 

Faster ana smarter than an AT - PCSG 
guarantees it. 

Fourth, these are the best. There are 
several other boards on the speedup 
market. We at PCSG have compared 
them all, but there simply is no com- 
parison. Many cards ofter only a marginai 
speedup in spite of their claims and otners 
are just poorly engineered. 

are really excited about these prod- 
ucts. PCSG makes the unabashed state- 
ment that the BREAKTHRU 286 card 
represents more advanced technolo^ 
than boards by Orchid, Quadram, P.C. 
Technologies, Phoenix... we could 
go on. Breakthru 286 is undis- 
putedly the turbo board with 
the biggest bang for the 
buck. And we include 
FREE the $89.95 ac- 
claimed Lightning 
software. Call tod^ 
your credit card or COD 
instructions and we will ship 
your card the very next day. 


Think Again. 


DONT TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT. USE EITHER 
BREAKTHRU 286 SPEEDUP BOARD FOR 60 
DAYS. IF YOU ARE NOT TOTALLY SADSFIED 
SIMPLY RETURN IT FOR A FULL REFUND. 


Pf CON R IIIO SL C 


11035 Many Hines Blvd. • Suite 206 • Dallas, Texas 75229 • (214) 3510564 

CIRCLE 489 ON READER SERVICE CARD _ 





■■Exceptional 3-D Spfeadsheeti«i —pi i M ii 

Everyone who tries it, tells us, 
"It's the best there is.” 




Idvertisins 

IduinistNti 

OptNtiMS 


jbnafutariftf 


Advertisiif 


Kajuints 
HenspnKPS 
TV I R^io 
tkyiipiting 

Total 


FIG. I Let's get the detail on those ad costs, just move 
the wldebar to that cell and press one key (grey +i. 


nize than it is to remember. As 
choices are made on a menu that take 
you to lower levels you always can see 
exactly where you came from and 
where you are going. The complete 
menu path is always visible. You can- 
not get lost several levels down. This 
means you never have to remember 
a command, you just flow right to it. 


What 
Makes 
it so 
Special 

In the 


FIG. 2 Here we are Instantly. Notice the lower 
left comer showing we are on level 2. You can go 
down or up. ISee next pagel 


processor or any other program. 
Lucid lets you cut anything on the 
screen and paste it right into Lucid, 
or cut anything from a Lucid work- 
sheet and paste into the application 
below. You can even run Lucid on top 
of 1-2-3 if you like, and cut and paste 
information from one to the other, in- 
cluding formulas. 

Lucid 3-D was developed over the 
past two years with countless, exhaus- 
tive hours of planning and program- 
ming to produce something spectac- 
ular. This is a product that works the 


screen 
examples 
you can 
see Lucid 
is really 

multi -dimensional. Any cell of the 
spreadsheet can contain a complete 
other spreadsheet that you can ac- 
cess with a single keystroke. It is 
as simple as the pictures show. 

And you don't have to 
write formulas to do that. 

All you do is go look at the 
other file, navigating 
through easy, point and 
shoot directories. When you 
come back up (with one key) the link 
is made automatically for you. 

Everything about Lucid works that 


^ t»-c:\nGn\uvn.Lci 


Don't take our word for it Use Lucid 3-D for 60 days. 
Return it for a full refund if not completely satisfied. 
Plus , instead of the $199 list price an introductory 
spread-the-word price of $99. 


way. Users say "It is so intuitive that I real- 
ly don't need a manual. " That's because 
we use something we call a visual 
command menu. )im Seymour, the 
noted PC columnist, talking about Lu- 
cid in a recent article said that, "if there 
ever ms an interface idea so good it ought 
to be stolen and widely used, this is it:' 

What he was talking about is a new 
menu approach that follows a simple 
design concept: it is easier to recog- 


Lucid 3-D is priced to sell at $199. 
but we want thousands of people us- 
ing Lucid everyday, all over the world. 
We invite you to be a part of that 
group. The reason we are offering 
Lucid for only $99. on a sixty day re- 
turn for a full refund, is simple. Pre- 
liminary user testing of the product 
produces the same results over and 
over. People tell us they would never 
work without Lucid 3-D again. Even 
folks continuing to work with 1-2-3. 
Memory Resident 
That's because the idea of a mem- 
ory resident spreadsheet makes 
sense, one that you can pop-up ins- 
tantly while working in your word 


Expense Buijet 


uc:>naiM»DBi.ia 


way we dreamed a spreadsheet would 
function. Everyone who has seen it 
says things like, "Lucid 3-D is how soft- 
mre of the 1990's will look and perform". 
or even more to the point "Tkis is the 
UYiy I 
thought a 
computer 
should work ". 

You'll 
see. Lucid 
is exciting. 


June 1981 




1 800 544-4699 








.'OIMB 


w,-* 



Any cell can contain a complete other spreadsheet 
that you can access with a single key. 


Plus, no matter where you are on a menu or 
what you are doing, just press function key FI, 
and you will get a help screen specific to that 
command or action. Or if you want to know about 
any subject you can pop up an index of over 400 
topics and select the one you want. 

Notepad Behind Every Cell 
Another 3-D feature is that any cell can also 
contain a multiple page note that you instantly 
access with a single keystroke. You can write 


want more detail, so let's go to 
lust press the Grey -f Key 


le best idea I’ve seen for 
a spreadsheet in years, yy 

rmour. Columnist, PC Magazine, PC Wfeek 


FIG. 4. Now, instantly we are on level 3. Each level Is a differ- 
ent spreadsheet. You could now move to the New York Times 
and see the detail on that figure There Is no limit to the levels 
you can go. Move right down to transaction level If you like 


notes, memos or letters that relate to 
your work, save them as individual 
files and even print them separately 
or with your spreadsheet. 


Fig. 5. Of courM; Lucid does multiple windows. Notice 
you can simultaneously open windows indifferent 
directories, different drives, even down as many 
as 3'D levels as you like No one else can do that. 


Speed 

Lucid 3-D is truly revolutionary, it is 
fast, fast, fast! It is incredibly quick in 
pierforming calculations because it 
doesn't recalculate every cell every 
time you insert an entry. Instead, it 
only recalculates the spiecific cells that 
are affected by your change. This is 
called minimal recalc. Lucid also has 
a remarkable innovation called back- 
ground recalc in which you are given 
control of the cursor the moment cal- 
culations affecting your viewing 
screen are completed. Other calcula- 
tions you don't see continue on in the 
background during the next com- 
mands. The end result of this power- 
ful combination is you rarely wait for 
a recalculation with Lucid. You find 
out what instantaneous is all about. 
Lucid Learns 

Lucid 3-D also lets you teach it any 


combina- 
tions of 
keystrokes 
so that in- 
volved se- 
quences 
can be. 

done with single keys. Plus more than 
just remembering keystrokes. Lucid al- 
lows you to create Macros with loops, 
procedures and conditional branching 
amazingly all done automatically with 
simple menus. You can create your 
own menus that show the new fea- 
tures you have taught it. Another 
great feature is you can make your 
custom menus work like Lucid where 
one choice can take you down a level 
to a whole new set of choices. What's 
nice is that they will work from one 
spreadsheet to another. 


Mouseabllity 

Lucid 3-D was designed for both 
keyboard enthusiasts and mouse 
lovers alike. You can take your pick. 
Designed around the mouse from the 
ground up, the interface is smooth 
and natural. You select files to load 
from directory lists. Everything is 
pxaint and click. What's more, any 
Lucid 3-D menu selection can be 
"moused " and the response time is 
"right now " instead of the sluggish "a 
little bit behind you " feel of add-on 
mouse menu systems like those 
you've seen with 1-2-3. 


©COPYRIGHT 1987 PERSONAL COMPUTER SUPPORT GROUP INC 







rrw ti n ‘sr r- 






F-kess Rwge HESESJStopage Print Thpte-D HindoMS Audi t Options Exit 


Exit i tgp« Clipkard into application below 


KanuFaeturiHg 

Research 


Thanks, 


I to: mbept Snith 


Enclosed m m estiMtes for the June 1988 Midnt. 
e take a look at tkoii, and see if thcg agree with your 


FIG. 6 We need those budget figures in the Word 
Perfect letter we are writing. Clipboard Dump 
does it right now. 


Expense Budget June 1988 


Advertising 

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A window pops up with a library of 
funaion names you can page through 
with the mouse. Select, click and it's 
in the formula with no typing re- 
quired. You even have a label window 
that you can fill (from the keyboard) 
with favorite labels and names so that 
you can insert them later with the 
mouse. There's even a pop-up calcu- 
lator to insert numbers so you don't 
have to go to the keyboard very often. 

It really permits that feeling of be- 
coming one with your work. Lucid 3-D 
has windows of user defined range 
names as well as the macros named 
by the user that can be selected just 
by pointing and clicking. Icons that 
are easy to grab with the mouse let 
you resize and move the spreadsheet 
window with the ease you would ex- 
pea. Plus you can go anywhere on 
the sheet by moving the mouse and 
clicking on the spreadsheet borders. 
And remember Lucid is designed so 
that any of those features are done 
with or without the mouse easily and 
quickly. 

Audit 

When you are staking a big decision 
on information gained from a spread- 
sheet you need to be certain that you 
have made no mistakes. Lucid offers 
five audit displays and printouts. 
Masterwork 

We could go on at great length 
about all the features and innovations 
in Lucid, but Lucid is more than a bag 
of features. What is most important 
is the pride and craftsmanship that 
went into its creation. It is a master- 


work. The overall feel is tight and 
polished. In fact, Paul Somerson, ex- 
ecutive editor of PC Magazine, used 
one word to describe it. "Slide". 

PCSG has built a reputation as a de- 
velopment laboratory producing 
products that you know are excellent. 
In 1983 PCSG dominated the Model 
100 laptop market with ROM based 
software that every reviewer rated as 
excellent. In 1985 we produced 
UGHINNG the pioneer and award win- 
ning Disk speed up software. In 1986 
we developed the ac- 

celerator board that blew everything 
else out of the water, and later we 
topped ourselves with the Breakthru 
12. Now in 1987 those who have 
worked with Lucid 3-D tell us "you have 
done il again. This is software everyone should 
have." 


Even if you don't plan to abandon 
1-2-3, Lucid makes sense. Files are 
converted between them with ease so 
there's not an interoffice compatibili- 
ty problem. This means you can have 
the power and fun of Lucid 3-D 
without having to upset your present 
systems. 

We are excited about Lucid 3-D. But 
don't take our word for it, take us up 
on our 60 day offer. Call us on our 
order line number and we will ship 
your order the very next day. This S99 
offer won't last because we will be 
shipping to the dealers soon. But in 
the mean time we invite you to try 
Lucid as part of our "spread the 
news'" campaign, lust pick up the 
phone and call us. We accept all major 
credit cards or you can order COD. 

Exceptional spreadsheet for 
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ANNOUNCING ORAOE 
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TIME-$I 

Spreadsheet growing too big and complex? 

You need a database. No time to learn 
a database? You need the ORACLE 
database add-in for Lotus 1-2-3. 


If you have Lotus 1-2-3 and $199, you 
can now solve the six biggest 
spreadsheet problems: 


5 1$ recalculation time for seldom- 
used reference variables eating 
you alive? 

Do you wish you could simul- 
taneously share spreadsheet 
data with other PCs, as well as with 
minisand mainframes? 

Now. ORACLE for 1-2-3 turns your 
spreadsheet into the world-class 
database you already know how to 
use. And without learning a new 
database language, you can use the 
very same ORACLE that's the most 
requested DBMS by minicomputer and 
mainframe users. All for only $199. 

ORACLE for 1-2-3 lets data rela- 
tionships replace ever more complex 
spreadsheet formulas. No more time 
is wasted recalculating seldom-used 
reference cells. In short. ORACLE 
puts data back where it belongs. In 
a database. 

With simple extensions to existing 
Lotus menus, ORACLE for 1-2-3 lets 
you create new database tables right 
from rows and columns in your 
spreadsheet. When )«u query the 
database from a cell, you immediately 
see current database information. 
Update a spreadsheet cell, and the 


database is simultaneously updated. 
A range of cells in your 1-2-3 spread- 
sheet could really be a window into 
an online micro, mini or mainframe 
database anywhere in the world. It's 
network ready, from LAN to WAN. 
Allas easy as... 1-2-3. 

ORACLE FOR 1-2-3: 
THE NEW STANDARD 

ORACLE is the number one data- 
b^ise for mainframes, minicomputers 
and workstations. Software Digest 
recently rated ORACLE the most 
powerful and versatile relational 
DBMS for the PC. And ORACLE is 
based on SQL. the data management 
standard endorsed by IBM. ANSI, 

ISO and the federal government. Now. 
there is a new standard: ORACLE 
for 1-2-3. It has the simplicity you've 
always had, with the power you've 
always wanted. 

THE ADVANTAGES OF 
DATABASE TECHNOLOGY 

If your data is in a database, your 
spreadsheet only has to deal with 
the data you're interested in. Which 
means spreadsheet performance is 


dramatically improved. But this is 
just the beginning. 

Multiple users can share the same 
data. Different users can have differ- 
ent levels of security. Mainframe-class 
data integrity and error recovery 
mean never having to say "Ooops!” 

• CREATE YOUR DATABASE FROM 
SPREADSHEET COLUMNS AND ROWS 
Familiar menus and context-sensitive 
help guide you through the process. 

• QUERY YOUR DATABASE AS 
EASY AS 1-2-3. Have the query built 
for you. or write SQL queries your- 
self. Learn why SQL is the industry 


• AROUND YOUR OFFICE OR 
AROUND THE WORLD. ORACLE 
for 1-2-3 is network ready for data 
distribution on LANs and WANs. So 
data on PCs. workstations, minis 
and even on mainframes appears as 
if it's on your local hard disk. 

HEARD ENOUGH? 

WE LL PAY SALES TAX AND 
SHIPPING IF YOU FILL OUT AND 
MAIL THE ATTACHED COUPON. 
OR CALL TODAY. YOU CAN ALSO 
SEE A DEMONSTRATION AT YOUR 
FAVORITE COMPUTER STORE. 


ORACLG' 

COMPATIBIUTY • PORTABILITY- CONNECTABtUTY 


CALL I-800-ORACLEI 
EXT. 144 TODAY. 


r Dear Oracle, 


Ye^ have an [j^0286/803B 6 P^ unning tj?^OS 3.0* and [F^^otus release 2.01. latso have I 
[F^OKBof RAM. plus either lIliMBol exiended memory or I'll reassign I.MB of my expanded | 
labove-boardi memory at extended memory. Please send me the database I already know how I 

B ute: ORACLE Database Add-in lor Lotus 1-2-3. Enclosed is my Cl check, or D VISA/ | 

MC/ □ AmEx credit card authorization ior S199 Hurry 


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Title 

Street (No PO boxes, pteatel 

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State 


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Credit Czrd Number 

Card F.xpiratinn Dale 


Signilure 

I’CUM. 



Orwcle to a rvgkatered trademarkofOrwckCorporvUon. The following ar«atootr*denukrka; Lotus astd l•2•3 o( Lotus Development Corporation; IBM of IntemalioiwIBuslnesaMKhiiM 


I Has your spreadsheet grown so 
complex you can't keep track of 
the formulas any more? 

2 Have you had to break down your 
large spreadsheet into many 
smaller ones? 

3 Do you have to manually re-enter 
data that's duplicated in several 
spreadsheets? 

4 Do you have to manually manipu- 
late rows into meaningful groups? 


data management standard. 

• UPDATE YOUR DATABASE AS 
YOU UPDATE SPREADSHEET 
CELLS. In update mode, changes in 
your spreadsheet become changes 
in your database. And if you make a 
mistake, you can... 

• COMMIT OR UNDO CHANGES 
Finally, an ‘‘UNDO" command for 
1-2-3! When your database changes 
are complete, you can COMMIT 
them, or ROLLBACK your database 
and your spreadsheet. 


VIEWPOINTS 


Letters TO 

PC MAGAZINE 


PLEASED WITH MAa ORDER 

Thank you for your very in-depth discus- 
sion regarding hard disk mail-order pur- 
chases (“The No-Sweat Way to Pump Up 
Your PC; Mail-Order Hard Disks,” PC 
Magazine. December 8, 1987). It was 
slightly off on timing, as I ordered and re- 
ceived a hard disk drive through a mail-or- 
der firm just 2 weeks prior to your article. 
However, I was fortunate in selecting the 
Editor’s Choice, Lifetime Memories, as a 
vendor, and in taking the steps so splendid- 
ly outlined in your article. 

Michael Lee 
Alhambra, California 

On the strength of your article “The No- 
Sweat Way to Pump Up Your PC: Mail- 
Order Hard Disks,” I ordered an ST225 


SPREADSHEET COMMENTS 

John C. Dvorak has finally come up with 
an insightful viewpoint (“Spreadsheets? 
Just Say No!,” PC Magazine, December 
22, 1987). Indeed, spreadsheets, especial- 


ly / ■2-3. are very messy programming lan- 
guages and do turn users into boring ac- 
counting types. I'll have to watch myself 
when using spreadsheets, as my wife says 
becoming a boring accountant is grounds 
for divorce! 

Saul Douglas Roe 
Monterey Park, California 

John C. Dvorak is righdy known as a per- 
spicacious commentator on PC issues. 
However, his editorial in the December 22 
issue (“Spreadsheets? Just Say No!”) was 
neither up to his own standards nor the 
standards of responsible journalism. His 
position — that dependence on spread- 
sheets is injurious to the human spirit, or 
style, or something — is certainly one a rea- 
sonable person might take, but his defense 
of it is essentially a prolonged whine. In 
fact, by the end of the article 1 was wonder- 
ing whether I was reading an April Fools’ 
Day issue by mistake. 

Please encourage Mr. Dvorak to return 
to analysis of issues and to leave invective 
behind. 

Brian Rice 
Oberlin, Ohio 

No, indeed, John C. Dvorak, your short 
essay on the mentally deleterious effects of 
spreadsheet use (or abuse) delighted me 
(“Spreadsheets? Just Say No!’’). And no, 
you’re not in trouble in this quarter for be- 
ing overly radical. In fact, you’re right on 
target in identifying a problem with 
spreadsheet users. But remember, the 
sloppy thought patterns used today by 
spreadsheet freaks are merely a challenge 
to all of us to tighten our thinking on higher 
levels. 

William Frangos 
Salt Lake City, Utah 


CADD KUDOS 

Many thanks for Joel N. Orr’s excellent re- 
view of low-cost CADD programs (“Up- 
wardly Mobile CADD." PC Magazine. 
Decembers, 1987). 

Mr. Orr and his 
group of reviewers 
are to be commend- 
ed for their perse- 
verance in trying out 
so many programs. I 
know from personal 
experience with just 
four CADD pro- 
grams how hard it is to switch between 
them! 

How about an article in a future issue re- 
viewing high-end CADD packages, hope- 
fully by Mr. Orr and associates? 

Kevin Talbot 

Redmond, Washington 

PC Magazine is planning to do a high-end 
CADD blockbuster article sometime in the 
summer of 1988. — ^Ed. 


SOLOMON ID IMPROVED 

In a past issue of PC Magazine, you re- 
plied to a reader who was inquiring about 
your Editor’s Choice comments regarding 
Solomon Ill's multiuser version (Letters to 
PC Magazine, November 24, 1987). In 
your reply, you suggested a user may have 
difficulty upgrading from single-user to 
multiuser Solomon III. 

On behalf of TLB, I want to inform you 
that we have taken significant steps to im- 
prove the upgrade path (or Solomon III us- 
ers. While it is true that the upgrade pro- 
cess was difficult in previous versions, we 
have made this process relatively simple 
under the current version, 4.03a, as a di- 
rect result of user suggestions and input. 


THE 

w 


m 


)aR 
KOtODISK 
aRDS 


drive and Western 
Digital controller 
from PC Connec- 
tion. Although the 
drive arrived within 
30 hours of the time 
I placed the order, it 
did not work. PC 
Connection to the 
rescue! They were 
friendly and seemed willing to spend as 
much time as necessary to solve the prob- 
lem. They even shipped a new package to 
me by overnight air. So now that I am en- 
joying my new hard disk and controller, I 
want to thank you for your article. 

Sam Gentry 

Earlysville, Virginia 


Upwardly 

MOBILE CADD 







PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
15 




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LETTERS 


Under Version 4.03a, users only need to 
purchase and install the multiuser System 
Manager without performing a database 
transfer or changing programs. All the ap- 
plication modules purchased, as well as all 
the data files entered under the single-user 
version, are immediately usable when up- 
grading. 

Mark E. Rossi 

Marketing Communications Manager 

TLB Inc. 

Malvern, Pennsylvania 


SOFTWARE PACKAGING 

Jim Seymour packaged “Software Pack- 
aging” very neatly in the December 22, 
1987, issue. His column should be obliga- 
tory reading for every publisher who 
would like to sell more software. Howev- 
er, he might have added one other item that 
could be improved: informative packag- 
ing, which goes beyond well-designed 
graphics or empty words like “new and 
improved.” 

Some publishers think a pretty package 
is enough. They omit serious descriptions 
of their product’s features anywhere on the 
exterior packaging and settle for empty 
space or a few endorsement blurbs. Infor- 
mation about product performance and ca- 
pacity is essential to capture the interest of 
the software customers who browse 
among the $30-to-$200 packages. These 
customers are more likely to buy products 
that tell what they do, what hardware they 
require in order to do it. and what size tasks 
can be handled. Software packages that are 
silent about performance stay on the deal- 
er’s shelf waiting for the very susceptible 
indeed. 

Robin F. C, Dempster 

Marshall, Virginia 

Jim Seymour’s column (“Software Pack- 
aging”) expresses a view with which 1 
strongly disagree. Far and away my favor- 
ite form of software manual is the three- 
ring binder, and I believe anyone who uses 
his manuals would agree. 

Unlike the three-ring binders, the book- 
style manuals k la Borland won’t stay open 
when in use, can’t easily be updated, and 
don't protect the disk. In addition, the spi- 
ral-bound manuals, now common for 
many printers, are easily damaged when 
opening and can’t be identified from the 


spine. 1 only wish I could get all my soft- 
ware with three-ring binders. And I’d 
gladly pay the cost difference. 

John Pellet 
Arlington, Texas 

Jim Seymour’s “Software Packaging” 
column is all wet. He is not speaking for 
me. 1 very much like the boxed three-ring 
binder packaging for software. They’re 
free-standing on the desk, they look neat 
on the shelf, and most important. I can in- 
sert my own pages of updates and notes 
from Power User, Spreadsheet Clinic, and 
so forth, into them. 

It must have been a slow news day for 
Mr. Seymour. Maybe it was too chilly to 
go outside? 

Norman Peterson 
Santa Monica, California 


ENABLE ENUGHTENED 

Your recent article ” Making Connections: 
Integrated Multifunction Programs for 
LANs” (PC Magazine, November 24, 
1987) contained an extraordinary amount 
of erroneous information concerning En- 
able's functionality. 

In fact, it required a 
1 2-page letter to 
your publisher and 
editor-in-chief. Bill 
Machrone, to cover 
only our principal 
concerns in an at- 
tempt to set the re- 
cord straight. 


MAKINGl 

CONNKTtKS| 

lnu)jiraicd 
Muhilmik <1 
PmgnuTix Sif : 

LANs'" 


Now, I'm writing this brief letter on be- 
half of some 200,CK)0 current Enable users 
who already know better and all future En- 
able users who deserve to be more accu- 
rately informed. 

We at The Software Group acknowl- 
edge the impottance and influential perva- 
siveness of PC Magazine to our industry. 
The authors of this recent article departed 
from your well-known guidelines for ob- 
jectivity and accuracy — a situation that, 
we hope, you will want to redress fully. 

Theodore F. Newlin III 
President and CEO 
The Software Group 
Ballston Lake, New York 

As a longtime subscriber and advocate of 
PC Magazine, 1 have always been im- 


PC MAGAZINE 


MARCH2 9, 1988 









The A*Star 


MEGAHERTZ 80286 


For about $5300, you could own an IBM PS/2 Model 60. But for as little as $1100, you 
could own a Wells American A*Star*that can outperform it. Of course, for nearly the same 
money as an A*Star, you could also own any number of Asian built no-name clones. 

But then you wouldn't be getting the exclusive ownership advantages that only 
the A* Star offers. Advantages like an 80286 CP(J that runs the new MS OS/2 operating 
system and can also run at 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and now.. .16 MHz! And you wouldn’t be 
getting schematics. (Ours are free!) Or GE/RCA on-site maintenance. Or a no questions 
asked money-back guarantee. Oh, and there’s one more little item you wouldn’t get... 
peace of mind. Wells American has been making microcomputers longer than IBM! 

In fact, we’ve probably been making microcomputers longer than anybodyl 


But hey, who are we kidding? Not everyone cares about quality, reputation, support or 
serviceability. That’s why there are mail-order houses. And, as hard as it is to believe, not 
everyone cares about money or performance. Maybe that’s why there’s IBM (and 
Compaq?. .and all the others). But, for computer users who do care, there is, fortunately, 
a vendor who also cares. ..Wells American. And, we’d like to prove it to you. Call us with 
the page number of this ad. It’s worth a big discount on your next A-A-Star computer system. 
Call today. 803/796-7800. This offer is limited. 


4;^ 

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versatility, ease of use, and 
cost!’ •The best UNDELETE 
available-instead of merely 
“guessing!’ it recovers all data 
even on fragmented files. 

♦ HARD DISK BACKUP 
as fast and every bit as reliable 
as Fastback. ♦ The leading 
UNFORMAT for hard disks 
and floppy disks, enabling you to 
recover from many disk disasters. 

♦ PCFORM AT for 100% safe for- 
matting of floppy and hard disks. 

♦ A quick, reliable DISK CACHING 
utility for speeding up disk access. 

♦ A fast COMPRESS feature that like Disk Optimizer 
dramatically improves hard disk performance. • And a 
better resident mini WORD PROCESSOR than Sidekick, 
including word wrap, search/replace, formatted page print- 
ing and more. 

Before you buy any of these other utilities, take a look at 
PC Tools Deluxe. Like PC Magazine, you’ll find there’s no reason 
to look any further. For the dealer nearest you, or to order 
direct, call (503) 244-5782, M-F, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (West Coast time). 


9700 S.W. Capitol Hwy. 
Portland, OR 97219 
(503)244-5782 

CIRCLE 120 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


CenlmlFbmt 

Sofhvane 

J INCOKPORATED 


PC loots is a registered trademark of Central Fbint Software. All other product names are trademarks of their manufacturers. 


Copy it pc Deluxe Option Board 


Atedmok^ical 
taieakthrou^ for 
using Mac disks 
m your PC. 




Tiim a PC 3. 5" drive into a 
PC/Mac drive for only S159. 

Now it’s easy for the PC and 
Macintosh to share files. Installed 
in an IBM PS/2 Model 30 (or a 100 % PC 
or AT compatible with an internal 3.5" 
drive), the new Copy IP PC Deluxe 
Optkm Board allows the PC to read 
and write Macintosh data diskettes 
directly. 

A low-cost, state-of-the-art 
solution — no “extra” drives, 
serial cables or network needed. 

Using the latest ASIC technology 
integrated in a half-size card, the Copy II 
PC Deluxe Option Board transforms 
aPC’s internal 3. 5 "drive into a 
dual-purpose Mac/IBM compatible 
drive. For hundreds of dollars less. 


All you do is pop a Mac data disk into 
the PC’s internal 3 5" drive and go. 

Easy to use. 

PC users already know 
how to use Mac disks in a 

PC. The commands are vir- 
tually identical to DOS — 
simply add an “M” 
for Mac before each one 
“COPY” becomes “MCOPY,” 

“DIR" becomes “MDIR” etc. It’s 
really that simple 

Works with all the great 
Macintosh and PC programs. 

Now use all kinds of Mac data 
files with popular IBM programs 
like Pagemaker,™ Excel, dBASE* m, 
and Microsoft Word. With Lotus 1-2-3' 
even read Mac Excel spreadsheets directly. 


What’s more, switching back to a Mac 
is easy. Simply copy your files back to 
the Mac disk. 

Ideal for offices with 
both Macs and PCs. 

With the Copy II PC Deluxe 
Option Board, PC and Mac users 
can share data quickly 
and easily — for a lot 
less money than you 
would pay for a network 
or add-on Mac drives. 
There’s simply no easier, less 
expensive way to transfer data 
from Macs to PCs. Or vice versa. 

Bridge the gap. 

Teach a PC to read Mac files. 

For the dealer nearest you, or to order 
direa, caU(503) 244-6036, M-F, 

8 a.m.-5 p.m. (West Coast time). Please 
specify computer make and model 
when ordering. Compaq Portable, HP 
Vectra and Tandy 1000 require extra 
<15 cable Current Option Board owners 
will receive a special upgrade offer. 
Questions? Call us at (503) 244-5782. 

CenimlFbmt 

Software 

J INCORPORATED 
9700 S.W. Capitol Hwy. 
Portland, OR 97219 

ORCLE 160 ON RE ADER SERVICE CARD 



Advancing the State of Art 

Introducing Micrografx Designer 
High-Performance Design, Illustration, and Drafting 



Wltti Designer, you con load 
a scanned image you have 
sketched. Then trace over the 
bitmap to create a resolution- 
independent image wrhich you 
can stretch, color, and enhance 
with tar more detail. But Designer 
doesn't stop there. It includes 
unmatched drawing tools, such 
as spline and parabolic curves, 
freehand drawing, lines and polylines, 
arcs, and ellipses. 


For engineers. Designer includes 
a symbol library management 
system for assigning part num- 
bers, annotating drawing 
files with descriptive names, 
and generating parts lists, 
it also comes with Wlndovrs 
CONVERT, for transferring 
files to AutoCAD and back. 


For graphic artists. Designer 
includes tools for mixing millions 
of colors (RGB, CYM, or HLS), 
viewing and layout aids, a large 
drawing area (160" x 160'). com- 
patibility with Aldus PageMaker, 
and thousands of ClipArt images. 


Designer supports the most popular 
laser printers, plotters, and color printers. 
Designer's PostScript compatibility guarantees 
you the best possible quality output from 300 DPI on 
your laser printer to 2540 DPI on an Allied Linotronic 300 
phototypesetter. 


F rom the company that brought 
the IBM PC its first drawing 
system comes the most ad- 
vanced dravi4ng system ever. 

It combines all the features of a 
CAD system for an engineer 
with a complete set of artistic 
tools for a graphic artist. Its 
name won't surprise you. Its 
power will blow your doors off. 

We call it Micrografx Designer. 


Designer allowrs you to edit polygons and curves, fill irregu- 
larly shaped objects, and rotate text and graphics to one- 
tenth of a degree. Designer's variable zoom, fully associa- 
tive dimensioning, 64 loyers, 5 line styles, and 1 5 arrow and 
end styles provide unlimited control over your drawings. 


In addition. Designer is compatible with Micrografx Win- 
dows GRAPH. Windows DRAW, and In'a'VIsion. plus Micro- 
soft Excel and Windows Write. And Designer's interface is 
based on Windows2.0, matching the user interface of IBM's 
Presentation Manager tor OS/2. 


Designer provides extensive text handling capabilities such 
as merging text files from popular word processing pro- 
grams and supporting graphic and 
bitmapped fonts. You can edit text 
and even stretch and rotate it. And 
Designer supports all Windows- 
compatible fonts and download- 
able fonts. 


MICROGRAFX 


For additional information, call your local Micrografx Au- 
thorized Dealer or call toll-free 1-800-272- DRAW (in Texas, 
214-234-1769), or write to Micro- 
grafx, Inc., 1820 North Greenville 
Ave., Richardson, Texas 75081. 


The Picture of Success 


step up to Micrografx Designer 
and advance the state of your art. 



All illustrations were created with Micrografx Designer. 

Ih* tolowing mng • o itoOamarK r«tvr«r>c». ncMng regittweO and urv«9*t«r«d traa*maru tor me corhporMs kMd ■n'o’Vbion, Windows CONVERT. Windows DRAW. Windows 
GAAPH. NtcroTotk. ihc PageMaker AiOi» CorporoKon. Mcroeofi Excel Kftcroion corporoMon. PostScript. Aoooe Systems mcorporotea eM. niemonortai Busness Mocnmes Corp 


CIRCLE 485 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


VltWPOINTS 

■ LETTERS 


pressed with the accuracy and fairness of 
your reviews. My respect has slipped a 
notch or two after reading the comparison 
of integrated programs for LANs in which 
major errors were created by totally inac- 
curate statements about Enable (“Making 
Connections: Integrated Multifunction 
Programs for LANs"). 

\^en we compared Open Access 11, 
Smart, and Enable before choosing our 
LAN application software, we found sev- 
eral major problems that your authors 
didn’t seem to find. For example, the 
Smart system has a major limitation that 
instantly removed it from consideration as 
a multiuser LAN database — in Smart 
LAN , if there is just one index Filed in a da- 
tabase, then only one user can have access 
to that database. This important informa- 
tion was not even hinted at in the article. 

Also, the reasoning behind the com- 
ments in the Editor's Choice box defies all 
known LAN logic. The biggest single rea- 
son for buying a LAN with LAN-type ap- 
plications is shared database access. Yet in 
the Editor’s Choice box, the author admits 
that Smart's “weak point is the database. ” 
Give me a break. Perhaps in the next 
spreadsheet comparison, PC Magazine 
will pick the spreadsheet with the prettiest 
face but the weakest number-crunching 
ability. 

I’ve never written a criticism of a PC 
Magazine review until today. However, 

■ The reasoning behind 
the comments in the 
Editor’s Choice box defies 
all known LAN logic. 

when your writers blow it, they do it big 
time. I expected better of PC Magazine 
and I am disappointed. 

Kevin Shaw 

Austin, Texas 


FANTASna 

Mark Novisoff and Ray Duncan are both 
fantastic! I can hardly wait to read Dun- 
can’s future articles about MASM and 


QuickC. And please have Mr. Novisoff 
write more about QuickBASIC 4; his arti- 
cle on programming libraries was great 
(PC Lab Notes, PC Magazine, December 
8, 1987). 

Randy D. Peck 
Bell, California 


DFjAvu 

In the December 8, 1987, review of D^jd! 
(First Looks, page 48), Donald B. Trivette 
states, “When you have the only product 
that allows the most popular spreadsheet 
program to talk directly to the most popu- 
lar database program, you don’t worry too 
much about speed.” This comment, 
though perhaps true in essence, is not true 
in fact. Your readers may want to know 
that DB12111, a Lotus 1-2-3 add-in from 
Triple C Software, also allows 1-2-3 to 
talk to dBAS£///. 

Edward H. Claggett 
President, Triple C. Software 
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 


CORRECnONS/AMFUnCATIONS 


Complete Computer Services’ CCS De- 
signer (“Upwardly Mobile CADD," PC 
Magazine, December 8, 1987) does bold- 
face text, snaps to the center of a circle, 
displays cursor coordinates, displays ob- 
ject dimensions, measures distance point- 
to-point, and mirrors symbols on inser- 
tion. 

The correct phone number for CDE Soft- 
ware, maker of the program Checks & Bal- 
ances (After Hours, PC Magazine, Janu- 
ary 12, 1988), is (213) 661-2031. 


HOW TO WRITE TO PC MAGAZINE 

Do you have a comment, compliment, or 
criticism about something you’ve read in 
PC Magazine! A question you’d like to 
open up to other readers? Then send your 
opinion to Letters to PC Magazine, One 
Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016, or 
through MCI mail to PCMAGAZINE. 

All letters become the property of PC 
Magazine and are subject to editing. We 
cannot publish letters that do not include a 
name, ^dress, and phone number for ver- 
ification. We’re sorry we’re not able to an- 
swer letters personally. HS 


PC MAGAZINE 
21 


A Computer 
"Book” That 
Will Never Be 
Outdated 


The problem with most books 
about public domain and 
shareware software is that 
they are usually outdated 
before they leave the printer . 

To overcome this problem, 
we put the definitive Guide 
to rtiblic Domain and Share- 
ware Software on disk. This 
makes it easy for us to keep it 
updated monthly, and you 
can get free updates by 
returning the disks to us. 

The Public (Software) Library 
has for years been acclaimed 
by the national press as the 
most up-to-date, best organ- 
ized library of PD/shareware 
available and this is reflected 
in the Guide . 

But the Guide is much more 
than a catalog of the disks in 
the PsL . It is arranged by 
subject, from Accounting, 
Communications and Data- 
base to Statistics, Utilities 
and Word Processing. 

Each section leads you to the 
specific type of software you 
need to solve your problems 
and then presents reviews of 
each of those programs. 

Then you can order the disks 
for only $5 each. Public 
domain programs require no 
other fee. The registration 
price for shareware programs 
is normally in the range of J5 
to $50. 

You can order the Guide now 
for just $10, or you can find 
out more about the PsL by 
calling or writing for a FREE 
sample of our monthly news- 
letter and complete listing of 
disks in the library . 


PUBLIC 

(software) 

LIBRARY 

P.O. Box 35705 - PG 
Houston, TX 77235-5705 
713-721-5205 or 713-721-6104 
MC/Visa Accepted 


CIRCLE 529 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


Cc 


PC EXPRESS ANSWERS THE MOST ^ 
ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT 
THE NEW CLIPPER ^SUMMER ^87 


What Dom The Clipper Compiler Do? 

Clipper'^ compiles dBase and 
dB^ III Rus™ source code programs, 
procedure and format files into a binary 
program which can be distributed and 
executed independent of dBASE. 

Bow Modi Faster b Cl^’per? 

Applications run up to 20 times faster than 
the same application in dBase III or dBase 
III Plus. Tile average appbcation typically 
runs 5 or 10 times faster. 

How Conqmtibb b Clippor Witti 
dBase ID aad dBase m Pins? 

Clippier supports the majority of dBase III 
commands except those that are normally 
used interactively. Tliere are some minor 
differences in the implementation of some 
other commands. 

DBF, FRM, MEM and LBL files are the 
same as interpretive dBase III. Clipper 
index files have the extension .NTX (cor- 
re^nding to dBase .NDX) and result in 
faster indexing and more efficient use of 
disk space. 


NEW VERSION: 
CLIPPER SUMMER ’87 

• compatible with Microsoft C 

• dBASE NDX file compatibility 
option 

• drastic compile-time and run-time 
speed increases 

• complete file I/O control 

• 255 open files uhlmig DOS 3.3 

• enhanced error handling 

• enhanced debugger 

• powerful menuing command 

• interactive command simulation 
(BROWSE) 


Dom Clipper Sopport Networ kin g? 

Yes. Both versions Autumn '86 and Sum- 
mer ’87 allow you to run compiled appli- 
cations on most popular networks. They 
feature record and file locking and sup- 
port Expanded Memory. 

A second work station may view or read 
a locked record or file and produce re- 
ports. However, an operator of the second 
station cannot update or write to a locked 
record or file. 

Do I Noed Any Kindof Rnntiine Modnb 
lb Rm A Cli|nte>’ Compiled Progxam? 

No. Clipper produces an object code 
module with the extension OBJ. When the 
.OB] file is linked (using PLINK86 which is 
included) a relocatable file with the exten- 
sion .EXE is produced which can be run 
directly from DOS. 

Do I Need Clipper For Every 
Prognm I Dbliibute? 

No. You can compile and distribute as 
many programs as many times as you 
wish. Nantucket charges no runtime or 


royalty fees for distribution of your com- 
piled applications. 

Are There Royalttee For 
Adding Work Stedone? 

No. Clipper places no limits on worksta- 
tions. You may add as many work stations 
as your networking software will allow 
with no additional fees. 

Dom Cl^per Handle Memo Fields? 

Yes. Memo fields can be stored as string 
values, allowing them to be searched, con- 
catenated and REPLACEd . ASCII text files 
can be read into memofields and memo- 
fields can be read into ASCII text files. 

What Size Are Clipper 
Compfled .EXE Fibs? 

'Oie minimum size Clipper file is about 
145K. This overhead is a one time ex- 
pense and is present in even the smallest 
program. DOS requires 30-40K of mem- 
ory. In addition, Clipper requires 64K for 
its own purposes once loaded, which 
means that in a 256K machine you could 
load a program of about 160K into RAM. If 
you create a program that exceeds your 
computer’s memory, you may create 
overlays to work around the problem. 

What Aw Overbys? 

Overlays are portions of your application 
that will NOT reside in your computer’s 
memory until executed. An area of mem- 
ory is designated for overlays by the 
linker. You then specify which portions of 
your program are transferred in and out 
of that memory area. 

b What Lanfpuge b Clipper Written? 

Clipper is written in the Microsoft C (5.0) 
language with some assembly language 
routines. 

Dom Clipper Allow Ton 
lb Create Window!? 

Yes. With CJlipper's new SAVE SCREEN 



REAL PROGRAMMERS 
DONT USE dBASE. 

OR DO THEY? 

We re finding that some very swift pro- 
grammers are using dBASETTM to write 
some very fast applications, and are com- 
pleting their projects much more qux:kly. 
But they dieat 

They use the CbpperTM compiler to 
combine dBASE wim C and assembler. 

With dBASE used like pseudo-code, 
they can then quickly create prototypes 
that actually run. 

Then, with dBASE doing the high-level 
database functions, they use the Clipper 
compiler to link in C or assembly lan- 
guage modules from their own teg of 
tncks 

And they're finding that they're linking 
in less than they expected because Cl^^ 
per compiled code runs so fast and be- 
cause of Clipper ’s built-in enhancements 
Clipper includes 

• E^a^ networking that provides file and 
record locking the way it should be 
dcffie. 

• Fast screens that can be treated as 
memory variables and eliminate the 
need for direct screen wntes and all 
that torturous heap management code. 

• Box commands that made windowing a 
breeze. And more. 

So if you'd like to use your time more 
productively, check Clipper out. 


and RESTORE SCREEN commands win- 
dows can be created and manipulated. 

wm Clipper Interlace With Mlcioaoft 
VnndowfTM? 

Clipper will run and compile with Micro- 
soft Windows™ but will not run as a 
separate task. 

b cupper Limited 1b 640K Of RAM? 

No. Clipper employs the Lotus/Intel/ 
Microsoft™ expanded memory protocol, 
allowing use of up to 1 megabyte of RAM. 

What Hardware b Reqnired 
IbRnaCUpper? 

Clipper runs on any IBM PC. )CT, AT. 3270 
or 1()0% compatible machine running D(DS 
2.0 or greater for single user applications. 
Networking applications run on most 
major networks supporting DOS 3.1 or 
higher. 

b cupper Copy Protected? 

No. Copy protection was removed with 
the release of the Autumn ’86 version 


Call for price details today 


dBaseinand 
dBase III Plus 
are trademarks of 
Ashton-l^ie 

Clipper IS a trademark of 
Nantucket Corporation 
PL1NK86 IS a trademark 
of Phoenix Software 
Microsoft Windows is a 
trademark of Microsoft 


A Division of PC BRAND, 150 Fifth Ave . New York. NY 1001 1 

1 . 800 - 321-7733 

PHONE: (212) 242-3600; FAX: (212) 627-1171; 

TELEX; 667962 (SOFT COMM NYK) 

C 1968 PC EXPRESS’* Pttcet. lemu and tpecilications subject to change withoui nonce 



ONE-WRITE PLUS 


(VERSION 2) 
(Great American 
Software) 


Accounting Sottrraio You 
Already Know How To Use ' ' ' 

Computerlxe tout books in less than 15 minutes' 
One-Wtite Plus is a powerful, yet eosy-to-use 
accounting system that makes operating and 
managing a business easier thon ever before 
One-Wnte Plus, based on the one-wnte system 
used by over 5 million small businesses and pro- 
fessionals. is the product of choice by thousands 
of accountants who use and recommend It 

One-Wrlte Plus includes FBEE technical service 
pop up help screens, easy-to-follow documenta- 
tion and tutorials, color or monochrome monitor 
support, multi-company access, and extensive 
report writing capability Each accounting mod- 
ule may be operated separately or used together 
to form o complete accounting system 


On«-Wrlto nut 
Genetal Lodger 
($2S0.) 

A comprehensive check 
writing and general 
ledger system 
• Updates balances on- 
screen alter each entry • 
Prints checks m batches 
or one ot a time • Gen- 
erates audit trails • 
Extensive check-sorting 
capabilities • Automatic 
double-entry posting • 
Departmental reporting 
(il required) • Up to 99 
bank accounts * Prints 17 
reports and tournals 


One-Wrlte Plus 
Accounts Receivable 
($250.00) 

A receivable and billing 
system that improves the 
cash flow and fiscal con- 
trols lor your business 
• Prints 3 types ol in- 
voices • Tracks customer 
invoices and deposits • 
Records all sales, re- 
ceipts and credits • Pop- 
Up complete customer 
records • Supports both 
open-item and balance- 
forward customers • 
Allows ilexible aging 
and payment terms • 
Applies finance charges 
automaiically or selec- 
tively • Provides 
comprehensive soles 
analysis 


One-Wrlte Plu« 
Accounts Parable 
($250.) 

The One-Wrlte Plus Ac- 
counts Payable module 
makes it easy lor you to 
pay bills and save money 
by taking advonioge ot 
vendor discounts and 
avoiding finance charges 

• Records recurring 
monthly invoices automat- 
ically • Allows multiple 
account distributions lor 
each transaction * Prints 
checks in batch or one 

at a time • Fast simple 
selection ol invoices lor 
payment • Prints aging 
reports, open invoice re- 
ports. mailing labels _ 

• Allows partial payments 
of Invoices • Pop-Up ven- 
dor tniormation 


One-Wrtte Plus PorioU 
($250) 

The One-Wnte Plus 
Poyroll module is a last, 
eiticieni. cost etiectlve 
way lor your business to 
handle its payroll and 
lax reporting needs 

• Prints payroll checks in 
batches or one at a time 

• Computes Federal In- 
come Tax and FICA 
deductions outomat- 
icolly • Manages stale 
tax and up to 7 other de- 
ductions • Prints required 
lederal and stole tax re- 
ports • Accommodates 
flexible pay periods 
weekly bi-weekly 
monthly . • Prints com- 
prehensive personnel 
reports • Calculates tax- 
able fringe benefits 



(Expanded Edition With Fill & File) 
$149 95 (FORMWORX) 

Imagine Being Able 
To Create Any Business 
Form Instantly 


Anyone (no computer knowledge necessary) can create a simple form in min- 
utes and with a Utile practice, use the FORMWORX advanced features to create 
any lorm imaginable 

Create custom lorms using FORMWORX'S advanced drawing tools Draw vertical 
and horizontal lines, boxes with dots, dashes or solid lines of various widths add 
heading and text using a variety of type sues and styles complete your lorm by 
adding any ol95 graphics till patterns including shading and borders 
Fill out your form right on the screen Just tab from blank lo blank Oon l worry 
about the math FORMWORX lakes care ot your calculations 
Print your lorm on almost any dol matrix or laser printer Print one copy or 999 cop- 
ies Print the whole lorm with or without data or Just pnni data on pre printed torms 
Store forms and data lor future use 

Betrieve and edit lorms and data at any future time Import and export tiles lo 
and from other software such as dBASE 


FOSMKITS (S3995 @QCh) FORMKITS is a library ot professionally de- 
signed lorms that work with FORMWORX Each kit contains at least 70 ready lo use 
business torms that can be customized lo meet your individual needs 
Business Forms essential business and communication lorms lor eittcienl 
operation ot your business, office or plant 

Time Management lorms including daily, weekly, and monthly planners, work- 
sheets. and torms lor protects, priorities, and goal setting 

Soles fc Morketing Management tor the sales person or manager territory ossign- 
ments. call reports, lollow-up reports sales analyses, commission records, and more 
Personnel Forms lor personnel monagement interview schedules, performance 
evatuollons. job applications, employee record lorms, and more 
Project Management contains lorms lor planning and controlling protects, pro- 
posals. cost estimates includes schedule and timetable worksheets and more 
Graphs and Charts contains 112 formats lor graphing, plotting, and recording 
information 



Tlmetllpt m is the perfect pro- 
gram lor lawyers, accountants, 
doctors, consultants, or any other 
business that charges by time 

Enter Time and Expense Infor- 
mation Irom your time sheets or 
track your activities in ‘stopwatch" 
lashion using TIMESLIPS III "pop- 
up’ (memory-resident) program 
that let's you pop-m or out ol any 
program such os 1-2-3 or WORD- 
PERFECT without disturbing your 
software 

CREATE THE PERFECT BILLI You 
tell TIMESLIPS III what you want 
your bill to include and how you 
want It to look. TIMESLIPS 111 mem- 
orizes your specifications and 
prints the perfect bills TIMESLIPS 
in lets you completely customize 
your bills, underline key words, 
column headings, subtotals, sales 
or service taxes, detailed descnp- 
lions or partial descriptions, 
previous balances, aging 


TIMESUPSIII 


(North Edge Software) 

$19995 

A Proiessional Time & 
Billing System with a 
Pop-Up "Stopwatch" to 
Time Phone Calls or 
Activities as You Work. 

TIMESLIPS m is complete Pro- 
duces detailed reports, summary 
reports. IRS reports, client aging 
reports, client listings, billing histo- 
ries. bar graphs, pie charts . 

TIMESLIPS III is simply the best 
Time and Btllmg System at any 
price 

TAL $7995 

The TIMESLIPS III Accountmg 
Link that lets you link TIMESLIPS III 
to most accountmg systems 


The Landlord 


PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE 




$595 (Systems Plus) 

TJi 0 £asf To f/M and Flezibie 
Prop^rtf Maaaff 0 in 0 nt Srst*ai 
It was the only program that looked 
like It would do everything that I 
needed 

Want up-lo-lhe-minule imanclal and 
rental inlormatlon at the touch of a 
linger^ Meet The Landlord With the 
Landlord, you can do all those cleri- 
cal and accounting tasks you've been 
doing by hand easier, taster, and 
more accurately The Landlord is suit- 
able lor managing apartments, condo- 
miniums. shopping centers, marinas, 
trailer parks, mini-storage units, aircraft 
hangers, single-family homes, du- 
plexes or any commercial properties 

■ Print statements that can be sent to 
tenants or used as payment receipts 

■ Produce computerized collection 
notices 

■ Generate lease expiration list 

■ Record all tenant charges and 
payments 

■ Identity late payers 

■ Produce tax analysis reports tor 
each property 

■ Generate Income statements per 
property and owner 




■ Produce vacancy reports 

■ Print Checks 

THE LANDMASTER 
$1250 

All Ot the features ol THE 
LANDLORD together with a 
complete General Ledger. Ac- 
counts Payable and Accounts 
Receivable System THE LAND- 
MASTER integrates your 
Property Management System 
into a completely coordinated 
accountmg system Also avail- 
able. a multi-user/network 
version of LANDMASTER 


PC EXPRESS" 1-800-321-7733 


A Division of PC BRAND 

OVERNIGHT SOFTWARE DELIVERY 


150 FIFTH AVE . NEW YORK. NY 10011 4311 PHONE: 212 242 3600 
FAX: 212-6271171 TELEX 667962 (SOFT COMM NYK) 

All prices subfect to change. Delivery subject to availability. 

S— 2S For Shtporrtg ClMrgos 







PROGRAMMING PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS 


C TREE & R-TREE 

B-TVee File Managfer Now Has Report Generator 


THE SPINDRIFT 
LIBRARY 

Fully Fimctional Fortran Ubrary. 

Spindrifl's anooth package offers 
something prevniisly unavailalole to the 
Fortran bufb . a basket of functions, 
packed to the bnm No more tedious 
coding. Just call on Spindrift with it’s 
armoury of functions. 

Any number of Windows may be 
defined, each with a striking border 
and bnlliant coloi. Define "pop-up" 
screens. Save/Restore images, set Cur- 
sor sha^. Snare an entire screen into a 
Character array 

The Keyboard; read it without echo, 
or seise any keypress during execution. 
Cursor controlled directly with 
Edit keys. 

interface indudes: Call System. 
Call Exec. Findfrsi/Findnext for (*) and 
P) file searching- Search the Path, sub- 
dtfectory and file manipulaticm. oom- 
mand line argument parsuig. dateAsne 
functions. EX^ ^vironment access, and 
mu^ more. Other utilities also mduded. 

Specnfy confer. Microsoft or Ryan 
McFarland List: S14B.0Q. Us: S129.00 


e-tiee: The only ma)or b-tree file manager 
with network su|:^rt in the standard low 
cost version, c-treeTM gives you record- 
locking routines for DOS 3.1/3.2. UNIX 
and XENIX , and It even comes in C source 
code, yet there are no royalties Source 
sticks to K&R. so C-lree is portable Tests 
in many environments prove it. 

Permits any number of keys for a data 
file— alpha, numeric, even floating point 
Handles files wnh varied record lengths, 
multiple keys in one index file. Both high 
level and decomposed functions. It's the 
works 

r-<ne: Adds the ability to produce ad 
hoc reports hcxn files maintained by 
c-tree (v. 4.1 and up), link a file descrip- 
tion to the r-ireeTM library, and use any 
text editor to write report scripts with no 
further C coding . Reports can access data 
m several files, select on cntena. join 
findings into new logx^al records, sort 
them, calculate new fields arxl cdumns, 
tabulate by ocmtrol breaks Ccmies in 
source, same portability asc-tree. and fits 
any compiler. 


list: Ours: Crmibined 
c-tree: f396 1285 1499 

r-tree S296 5235 


WINDOWS 
for DATA 

M*Soft Windows Compatible 

"Only one package can be easily recc»n- 
mended" said GvripurerLangua^ (June 
’87)reviewing rune window and data entry 
pri^ucts forC. Complete field level func- 
txms ^seofy prompt string, field l^igth. 
data type, screen location, picture, target 
variable, entry rules, help messages, 
even funchons to call for validation once 
data keyed in. 

Windows for C IS a subset . No data entry 
but all windowing functions. Unlimited 
windows can be made either to pop up 
or permanently overwrite the screen, 
scroll and highlighi lists vertically and 
honzonially. Specify Compiler. Windows 
for Data: List S9B, Ourstt59. Windows 
for C: list 5196 . Here 5149 . 


ESSENTIAL C 
UTILITY UBRARY 

400 Functions, 30c Each 

You've probably seen the speed and 
power of EssenOal's C function library 
without knowmg it. Software greats have 
been usuig it for some time to give 
today's top products pizazz and panache 
Now grown to 400 functions E^ntial 
produces pop-up menus, saves and re- 
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library has SO business graphxs func- 
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printers. 18 for mice. 11 for tone and date. 
EXDS mterface functions for disk error trap- 
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agement, lots more. Everything in source, 
including san^le programs. Wehavever- 
s»ns with pre-built libraries for the well- 
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librarian is supplied for rolling your own. 



liS: 

PC Brand 

C Utility Library 

$186 

1119 

Essential Graphics 

S2S0 

6183 

Essential Ccxhmunications 1186 

$12S 

with Breakout E)ebugger $250 

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HALO 

Graphics Tools for 
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When choosing your graphics tools for 
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list: (Durs: 

Halo S300 S219 

with Dr. Halo m S440 $299 

Halo for Miaosoft SS95 $434 


GREENLEAF 

LIBRARIES 

Fun^hns 

C source, assembler source, and 
binary libraries of 22S functions for 
many con^ilers. Emf^iasizes tight func- 
tional groupings to minirruze loading 
code which your application may never 
use Manual’s 250 pages help select 
functions, as do demos, bulletin board. 

Communications 

Communicate from within your own C 
programs! Over 120 functions and 
d«no programs in C and assembler 
source to set up interrupt-dnv^ asyndi 
oommurucatkxis for up to 16 channels. 
Up to 9600 baud. ASCII or binary, any 
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Data Windows 
Windows, menus and data entry do 
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leaf's screen architect. 'Hus smooth 
screen designer offers device inde- 
pend&ice. logical windows, table dnv- 
^ data entry and economical pncmg 
Source code is also available 

list Ours 

Communications $185 $139 

PunctKXis $185 $139 

Data Windows $225 $189 

Complete 3 in 1 Pack $596 $308 


The AUTOMATED PROGRAMMER 

Enter Mathematical Notation Directly SPECIAL 


A programming system for numerical 
computation that enables a computer to 
recognize and process mathematical, 
engineering, and scientific specificahons 
Using the Two-dimensional (2D) Tbxt 
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matrix inverse, dot and vector products, 
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specification, i e., for many problems, the 


BTRIEVE B-treeFUe 

Manager Plus Add Ons 

If networks are on your horizon, betting 
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ReascMi? Novell bought Btrieve's creator 
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finds any key in a million in four or less 
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variable length to 64k; indexes up to 255 
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list $245. Us $195 Network Version 
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PANEL PLUS Screen 

Favorite Has Library Source 

ITiereare no screen design and data entry 
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design a screen under program control, 
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work with as you please The cxide calls 
Panel Rus's function library, but ikiw the 
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portable cuid changeable 
Has every imaginable feature A 
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Operates in graphxs mode via inter- 
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HandlesEGA's43Iinescreen Adaptable 
to various keyboards, screens, operating 
systems Major tool with years of evolu- 
tion Lst $486. Here $395 


speaficauon is the program A correct 
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The Automatic Programmer tran^tes 
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Computational results may be embed- 
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"IMAGE" formats using intuitively obvi- 
ous (WYSIWYG) con&ol 
List $995 Ours, $9^ f 


BLAISE 

C TOOLS PLUS/5.0 

C TOOLS PLUS/5 0 from Blaise Com- 
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list. Ours 
C TOOI£ PLUS/5 0 $129 $99 

Tbrbo C TOOLS 129 99 

C ASYNCH MANAGER IJS 135 

•nirbo POWER TOOLS 99 75 

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If, 

C-WORTHY 

INTERFACE LIBRARY 

T he C-WorthyTM Interface Library 
wraps an ennre user interface 
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• Full context-sensitive help screen man- 
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error messages Automatic routines inter- 
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Novell found it "played a key role and 
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Ask for list Ours 

C-Worthy $195 CaS 

with Forms Library $295 Call 


BASTOC BASIC Into C 

For a trifling price. BASTOCTW moves 
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worksaver List $496, Us $399 


POLYTRON VERSION CONTROL 

Source Code Control for Any Language 


GSS GRAPHICS SYSTEM 

Leave the Device' Driving to GSS aHS> CB' 

For serious applicatKins shck to the tools 


umeieiiuc 

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1986 PC EXPRESS Pnc^. lurms and speafications subject to change without notice 


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APPUCATIONS PLUS For dBASE 


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duces bar, pie. line, and piebar chans 
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tions let you tailor graphs to your needs 
APPUCATIONS PLUS is 100% compa- 
tible with Appier and FoxBASE+ 



List 

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QUICKCODE PLUS 

$295 

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OUlCKENTRY 

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BRIEF/dBRIEF 

The Power Environment for dBASE Programming 


Many wonhy utilfly products supply 
needs that dBASE* s programming lan- 
guage doesn't— dUTILTM, dFLOWTM 
and a host of cxhers. Trouble is, you have 



to use them separately, then combine 
their output into ycMii dBASE program 
files. 

No longer. dBRIETTM, wntten in 


BRIEF'S macro language, grabs hold of 
BRIEF and turns it into a cwnplete dBASE 
UI and III Plus programming domain 
Using BRIEF'S underlying diell capabili- 
ties and Its ovm interfaces. dBRIEF can 
run external utility libraries, plus dBASE 
Itself, and link to the ClipperTM, 
Foxbase+TM and (Quicksilver compilers, 
all with dBRIEF still loaded and running 
the ^w, It can do what BRIEF already 
does plus 

• Convert a screen layout into dBASE 
code for interactive data entry 

• E)i^lay dBASE file struaures in 
windows, a great convenience alongside 
your program files 

• Expand keystrokes into full dBASE 
statements. 

• Indent automatically for clegic 
display 

• Create databases; index files; invoke 
Aditon-'fete's dFORMATTM and 
dCONVERTTM. draw lines and boxes 

'Simply marvelous programming en- 
vironment for writing and editing dBASE 
programs.”, PCMagazme. 7/86. Source 
code included! 

Requires BRIEF 1.32 or later and 384k. 
512k to run dBASE within dBRIEF; 64CH{ 
and harddisk recommended 

BRIEF/dBRIEF List $215. Ours: caU 


dBC Identical dBASE mnus Files Using C 


d BC™ IS a senes of C libraries from 
Lattice whkA creates, accesses and 
updates files idenhcal to those of dBASE 
itself. So dBASE can read and update the 
files too. 

What for’ It means bcth C and dBASE 
applicatuns can operate cm the same 
data bases interchangably It means C 
programmers can interface with the big 
market of dBASE users out there, yet 
side-step the dBASE language It means 
dBASE applications can now be linked to 
the uruverse of C libraries and locte to 
add windows, grai^ucs. statistical analy- 
sis. all the things dBASE cannot do It 
means the ^med and power of C to im- 
press clients accustomed to dBASE' 
dBC's funcnons p Uet alldBASE's file 
handling ccnrimands. luany decomposed 


to permit direct data manipulation Ibn 
eadi of data, index, and memo files may 
beopenatcmcm It's so complete an ISAM 
package that you can forgd dBASE and 
use dBC only for C programming 
Our versions of dBC mimic file formats 
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Hus makes your programs network 
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allows Hands-off mode handies record 
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lock/unlock cwitiol 
Supports all four memory mcxlels 
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dBasell. lU. List $250. Ours. $169 For 
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Code generator for dBASE 

The UI Programmer was developied for 
professional dBASE programmers who 
have been frustrated in the past by code 
generators Up until now. a senous 
dBASE programmer had to take what- 
ever code a generator produced and 
modify It to their needs With UI, the 
developer can generate exactly the 
dBASE code wanted. 

UI (User Interface) has two mam func- 
tions the first IS a powerful forms editor 
to create sophisticated screen and menu 
forms in a matter of mmutes The editor 
IS completely menu-dnven It works on 
the pomt -and -shoot ■ prmaple-iust put 
the cursor where you want and tell UI 
what to put there 

UI's other more important, mam func- 
tion is generatmg code for the forms 


you've designed Once you have a form 
the way you want it. you call up the 
Generate " menu, aixl tell UI which tem- 
plate you want to generate the code 
with Thai's the key -each template tells 
UI to produce a different kind of dBASE 
program 

It's through these templates that you 
can program the way UI generates 
source code You can use the templates 
that come with UI "as is ' (there are 
about 25 of (hem) completely rewrite 
them, or write your own So you don't 
lose control of design, like you do with 


other generators. You just let 

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tedious work 

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$244 

DOCUMENTOR 

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DATA-p 

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dBASE AT THE SPEED OF C 

dBx Translates dBASE Applications to C 


You dBASETM programmers know what 
an expressive and readable language 
dBASE IS It 's a very comfortable devel- 
opment envirorunent But the price IS de- 
based performance Even compiled 
dBASE doesn't offer the gxied that some 
users require these days. The kind of 
^oeed offered by software wntten in the 
C language The answer is dBxTM 

dBx translates dBASE to C It offers you 
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m dBASE T^e every ap;;^ication all the 
way to completion. Then use dBx to 
treinslate them top to bottom to C! 

Other advantages C is portable, even 
toother operatmg systems like UNIX/ 
XenixTM, lb the Macintosh or Amiga 
dBx gives your applications a passport to 
places dBASE cannot go. 

Has Its own file manager for single 
user, but linksto mapr C file managers— 
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good advice , _ 

List Ours: 

dBx $550 $419 

with Library Source $950 $725 

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Overdrive is not a disk cashe. an op- 
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CIRCLE 310 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



VIEWPOINTS 

■ MITT JONES 


PCadviscr 



Help in getting control over the PC’s cursor, in choosing a personal stock and bond portfolio 
package, and in putting together an image database system. 


STOP THAT CURSOR! 

Dripping faucets, flickering lights, and 
blinking cursors have the same effect on 
me — absolute irritation. 1 can fix the fau- 
cets and lights quite nicely, but the fix for 
the blinking cursor eludes me time and 
time again. What about it? Also, how can I 
speed up the cursor? 

John C. Ausland 

Oslo, Norway 

NoBlink/Accelerator, a $49.95 package 
by Nostradamus Inc. (Salt Lake City. 
Utah; (801) 487-9662), should rid you of 
your final irritant. NoBlink replaces your 
cursor with a solid block; the character be- 
hind the cursor shows up in reverse video 
on monochrome systems or in another col- 
or on color systems. If you use an EGA, 
you can' choose the block and character 
colors on the fly. 

As its name implies, NoBlink/Accelera- 
tor also includes routines to speed your 
cursor and stop cursor run-on. You can 
also blank your screen '(to prevent bum 
damage) with the touch of a key. I prefer 
this approach to the automatic, time-acti- 
vated screen blankers found in some utili- 
ties. 

NoBlink operates as a memory-resident 
program, but it rates extremely friendly as 
TSRs go and occupies only 6K RAM. 

If you decide you want even more con- 
trol over cursor speed once you've tried 
NoBlink, try to get your hands on a copy of 
KBFIX2 (Skip Gilbrech, 90 Lexington 
Ave., #IO-G, New York. NY 10016), a 
public-domain program that gets along 
well with NoBlink. All you have to do is 


dial up your favorite bulletin board or con- 
tact a user group to locate a copy. In addi- 
tion to controlling cursor speed. Version 
3.0 allows a few nice keyboard tweaks if 
you choose to use them. Best of all, 
KBF1X2 costs nothing. 

Alternatively, you may want to dish out 
$39.95 for Cmise Control from Revolution 
Software Inc. (Randolph, N.J. ; (201)366- 
4445), a commercial speed enhancer for 
your cursor. 


PC VIDEO 

As a security consultant, I have a number 
of clients who could benefit from a com- 
puter-based photo ID system for personnel 
and other uses. I already own a video cam- 
era, a VCR, and an IBM PC AT. Most of 
my clients own several XTs or ATs. What 
equipment do we need in order to start 
photo ID systems? 

Gary Huntington 

Houston, Texas 


■ Vofi/m/: operates 
as a memory-resident 
program, but it rates 
extremely friendly as 
TSRs go and occupies 
only6K RAM. 


You'll need an image capture board to link 
your camera or VCR to your PC. You’ll 
also need a picture database software 
package to get a system up and running. 

In simple terms, an image capture 
board lets you display single frame video 
images or continuous real-time images on 
a monitor. A camera or VCR feeds the 
real-time images to the image capture 
board. When you see an image you want to 
store for editing or later viewing, you com- 
mand the capture board to freeze the im- 
age and then store it in digital form on your 
disk. 

The picture database software packages 
vary greatly in the features they offer, but 
all give you some way to store images as 
one or more fields of a database record. 
They should also supply the interface to the 
specific image capture boards they sup- 
port. 

The PicturePower Color System — Pic- 
turePower software coupled with Truevi- 
sion Inc.'s Targa 16 board — earned our 
Editor s Choice over other picture data- 
base systems in our recent roundup ( ‘ 'Pic- 
ture Databases: Coming into Focus,” PC 
Magazine, August 1987). The Targa 16 
board produces clear, colorful images, 
and PicturePower makes setting up an ap- 
plication easy for anyone comfortable with 
using a PC. However, the total system — 
including the Targa 16. RGB analog mon- 
itor. and RGB color camera — retails at a 
whopping $6,230. But if you already own 
a composite or RGB analog monitor and 
camera, you can get away with spending 
$2,995 for the Targa 16 and $945 for Pic- 
turePower. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
27 




VIEWPOINTS 


■ PC ADVISOR 


For a more economical color system, 
you may want to opt for the ATronics Inter- 
national Professional Image Board 
(PIB) — an image capture board similar to 
the Targa 16 that costs only $799 (Milpi- 
tas, Calif; (408) 942-3344). The Picture- 
Power programmers plan to have com- 
patibility with the PIB built in by the time 
this issue hits the stands. 

The PicturePower Grey-Level System, 
essentially a black-and-white version of 
the Color System, retails for a more wal- 
let-pleasing $3,200 — including the 
Chorus Data Systems PC-Eye image 
board, black-and-white monitor, and 
black-and-white composite camera. 


PORTFOUOS, PC STVIE 

1 am currently using Personal Financier 
on a Compaq Deskpro. I am considering 
changing my home finance program to an- 
other, primarily because Personal Finan- 
cier does not provide even a semblence of 


a stock and bond portfolio manager. Please 
recommend a program? 

Philip Shaw 
Winnipeg, Manitoba 
Canada 

Since it sounds as if you and Personal Fi- 
nancier get along well on most counts, 
your best bet may be Sylvia Potter’s Per- 
sonal Investment Manager ($149.95; 
Timeworks Inc., Deerfield, HI.; (3 12) 948- 
9200). This powerful standalone package 
generates numerous reports arul graphs to 
track the performance of your stocks and 
includes many time-saving features, such 
as its ability to shift investments automati- 
cally from short- to long-term status at the 
appropriate time. It also provides for auto- 
matic quote updates from the Dow Jones 
News! Retrieval service. 

If you'd rather leave Personal Financier 
behind and make the change to a com- 
plete. integrated home finance program. 


go with Andrew Tobias’ Managing Your 
Money ($219.95; Micro Education Corp. 
of America, Westport, Conn.; (203) 222- 
9150). Managing Your Money, long the 
market leader, has been criticized for its 
copy protection (you have to insert a key 
disk at the program's request now and 
then). But Version 3.0, with its context- 
sensitive help and new 200-page manual, 
gives users lots to cheer about, too. 

Managing Your Money has powerful 
options for monitoring the performance of 
your stock. It also gives you integrated 
checkbook and budgeting functions. Un- 
fortunately. you'll have to cough up an ad- 
ditional $79.97 for Andrew Tobias’ Man- 
aging the Market if you want to update 
quotes automatically via Dow Jones. 


ASK THE ADVISOR 

Send your questions to PC Advisor, PC 
Magazine, One Park Avenue. New York, 
NY 10016 . as 



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PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
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M AKC'H 29, IVK8 



SFirst Looks 


8514/A &^ihics: 
Shaper, Fastm' Uxa VGA 



BY CHARLES PETZOLD 


IBM Corp. seems to think that 
its 8514 video system is only for 
specialized applications such as 
CAD. That’s why it gave the 
system a number rather than a 
name and put a $3 . 1 1 0 price tag 
on it. 

But the importance of graph- 
ics to the future of PC software 
indicates a much wider need for 
a high-resolution color video 
board such as the 8514/A. The 
VGA included on the PS/2 sys- 
tem boards offers only marginal 
improvements over the EGA. 
The 85 14/A is a much more sig- 
nificant step forward. 


The combination of the Dis- 
play Adapter 8514/A. 8514 
Memory Expansion Kit, and 
Color Display 8514 delivers a 
graphics resolution of 1 ,024 
(horizontal) by 768 (vertical), 
with 256 simultaneous colors 
from a palette of 262,144 col- 
ors. By comparison, the highest 
graphics resolution of the VGA 
is MO by 480 with 16 simulta- 
neous colors (see table). The 
only VGA video mode that dis- 
plays 256 simultaneous colors 
has a resolution of 320 by 200, 
which is inadequately low for 
most applications. 

With 2V2 times as many pix- 
els and double the numtwr of 
PC Labs Dithered Cube display attempts to eke out as many colors as possible from a color planes as the highcst-rCSO- 

firaphics system. On the IBM 85 /4/A it hardly broke a SH'eat. (contmues on page 35} 



HP’S 20-MHz 386 - a Hefty 60 
Poumis with Room for Expansion 


HTi 


HANDS ON 


BY JOHN DICKINSON 

If you’re concerned about the 
durability of today's light- 
weight computers — like the 
PS/2 models IBM is purvey- 
ing — don’t be. It turns out that 
some vendors — and I don’t 
mean just Compaq — are still in 
the business of building beefy 
boxes stuffed full of computing 
power. In particular, Hewlett- 
Packard Co.’s new line of floor- 
standing, 80386-powered Vec- 
tra RS computers are about as 


trucklike as a computer can get 
and still be called a PC. 

The HP Vectra RS/20 Model 
100 that recently arrived at PC 
Labs stands 25 inches tall by 9 
inches wide, not including its 
15-inch-wide footstand. The 
big PC weighs in at a hefty 60 
pounds, attributable mostly to 
the galvanized steel shell that 
sits inside the RS/20’s plastic 
case and surrounds the ma- 
chine’s guts — it serves as an RF 
shield as well as a heavy-duty 
structural frame. 

Perhaps more interesting 
than that, its 20-MHz clock 


speed yields 80386 perfor- 
mance that falls just short of the 
PS/2 Model 80-111. That also 
means, of course, that the big 
HP's performance fails short of 
the 20-MHz processing stan- 
dard set by Compaq's Deskpro 
386/20. But its IQ-millisecond 
access time, 103MB ESDI-con- 
trolled disk matches the perfor- 
mance of Compaq’s 70MB 
disk, which means it handily 
beats IBM’s 1 10MB ESDI disk 
made for the Model 80- Ml. 

On a price/performance ba- 
sis, the Hewlett-Packard comes 

I continues on pate 361 


HANDS-ON INDEX 


tBMKftSOH/U. 

PASBPtmEh 

PostScript from Big Blue.. 34 

FOIIT EFFECTS, 
WYSIFOMTS!, 

FOtmt/ARE TYPEFACE 


PACKACES 

New fonts and easier 
installation 38 

BRiEF2.01 

By programmers, for 
programmers 43 

CSCAPE 


Screen-building libraries .. 43 

WINDOWS OR THE WORLD 


A compact-disc atlas 48 

RUMERIKEYS 

Plug-in cursor pad 54 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
33 








^ I K S I I (M> K S 


KM’S PostScript Laser Prmter Ctonerates 
Gr^thics P^es mltte^laches Qmkiy 


HANDS ON 


BY MITT JONES 

IBM Corp. gave Ihe PostScript 
page description language a big 
push last April when it an- 
nounced that its own laser print- 
er, the 4216 Personal Page- 
printer. would have its own 
PostScript adapter. But it's tak- 
en IBM lOmonthstodeliverthe 
system in any kind of volume. 
As soon as the machine arrived 
here several weeks ago, testing 
began in PC Labs, with an Ap- 
ple LaserWriter Plus sitting in 
for comparison. 

Based on the Ricoh engine, 
the Pageprinter is much smaller 
and lighter than the LaserWriter 
Pius. But the differences be- 
tween the two extend beyond 
their appearances. 

Like the LaserWriter Plus, 
the Pageprinter enlists a Motor- 
ola 68000 processor to translate 
PostScript images into the bit- 
mapped images the machine ac- 
tually prints. But IBM departed 
drastically from the design of 
the LaserWriter Plus by placing 
Ihe 68000 and the printer's 
2.5MB of memory on an adapt- 
er board — the Personal Page- 
printer Adapter/ A. 

This approach carries one 
obvious liability — the adapter 
fills one of your slots. But it also 
improves print speed by boost- 
ing the data transfer rate. 
Whereas the LaserWriter Plus 
attaches to a serial port and re- 
ceives files at a maximum of 
19,200 bits per second, the 
Pageprinter Adapter receives 
files for processing through the 
system bus and transfers the bit- 
mapped images to the printer at 
an impressive average of 1.8 
megabits per second. 

Another departure from the 
LaserWriter design: instead of 
burning the interpreter into 
ROM, IBM elected to have 
Adobe’s PostScript interpreter 
self-load into 5 1 2K of the adapt- 
er memory each lime you bwt 
up. On the down side, this 
means your system stands unus- 


able for about 2 minutes after 
boot-up while it loads the inter- 
preter and tends to other Page- 
printer-related chores. On the 
up side, you'll be able to up- 
grade PostScript versions easily 
and cheaply in the future. 

So far, so good. 

But IBM designers were 
asleep at their drawing boards 


when it came to deciding how to 
implement the many PostScript 
fonts. Instead of shipping the 
printer with all its font outlines 
burned into ROM, as did Apple 
with Ihe LaserWriter Plus, IBM 
includes only 13 fonts in ROM. 
Its remaining 29 font outlines, 
which add variations of nine 
type styles, reside on hard disk. 


Before you can use any of 
the 29 additional fonts, you 
must run a utility that IBM pro- 
vides as part of the Personal Pa- 
geprinter Adapter Software. 
The utility, which runs under 
Microsoft Windows but can be 
accessed with a little trouble 
through DOS. loads the fonts 
you choose into the Pageprinter 
Adapter's memory. You can 
maintain as many as 18 fonts in 
memory at any time. 

IBM partially makes up for 
this aggravation by allowing 
you to store and reload font 
caches. Most PostScript print- 
ers store recently used 
fonts — generated from the 
stored font outlines — in a font 
cache in the printer’s memory to 
save the time of reconstructing 
the characters. But powering off 
the system flushes the cache, so 
the fonts have to be generated 
again before they can be used. 
IBM provides a utility that lets 
you save a font cache as either 
an automatically loaded default 
or as a cache you can reload at 
will. This feature won't save a 
great deal of time, but if intelli- 
gently used, it may save you 
some frustration. 

In yet another departure 
from traditional wisdom, IBM 
designated the printer output 
port as EPT in order to use a 
high-speed packet data transfer 
protocol. While this sounds 
good in theory, it creates some 
awkward problems in practice if 
you're not using a software 
package that specifically sup- 
ports the Pageprinter. 

For instance, if you try to 
print a PostScript file from DOS 
without using the special printer 
utility IBM provides, you get a 
printout of the PostScript code, 
not the output the code is meant 
to generate. Similarly, if the 
program you're using doesn’t 
support the EPT port, you’ll get 
PostScript code for output un- 
less you use still another IBM 
utility that maps EPT to LPTI . 

Annoying irregularities 
aside, the Pageprinter, Page- 

(continues on paeeSSi 


Apple LaserWriter Plus 


Our constitution is in actual 
operation; everything appears 
to promise that it will last; 
Courier Bold Underliner 
Palatino Bold Underlined Italu 
ZapfCftancery “Bold WukrUntd Italic 
Helvetica Bold Underlined Itali 

The IBM Personal Pageprinter (table below) serves as IBM's endorsement of the Post- 
Script standard and challenges the PostScript king, the LaserWriter Plus (above). 


IBM Personal Pageprinter 


is 


■ ~ 


Our constitution is in actual 
operation; everything appears 
to promise that it will last; 
Courier Bold Underlined 
Palatino Bold Underlined Italic 
ZMpfChancery Bold ‘llnderfined I talic i 


Type: Laser (PostScript) 

Downloadable fonts: 

Max. paper width; 6.5 in. 

Avante Garde— DemiOblique. Demi, 

Price: $4,999 (irKludes adapter and 

BookOblique. Book 

software) 

Bookman— Demiltatic. Demi, 

Ughtlialic. Light. Demiltalic 

SPEED (ppm): 

Garamond— Bolditalic, Bold. 

Rated— 6 

Lightitalic. Light 

Default ASCII-5.4 

New Century Schoolbook— 

Bolditalic. Bold. Italic. Roman 

TYPE PITCHES; Vanable 

Palatino— Bolditalic. Bold. Italic, 

Roman 

SOUND LEVEL (decibels): 

Zapf Chancery— Mediumitalic 

Rated: 42-52 

Helvetica— Black, BlackOblique. 
LightOblique. Light 

FEATURES: 

Konnna— Bold, KursivBold, 

Resident fonts; 

KursivRegular, Regular 

Times Roman— Regular, italic, bold, 
bold Italic 

Zapf Dingbats 

Helvetica— Regular, oblique, bold. 

COMPATIBILITY: 

bold oblique 

IBM character set: Low and high 

Courier— Regular, oblique, bold, bold 

Graphics: PostScript, IBM 

oblique 

Propfinter XL 

Symbol— Regular 

Text: PostScnpl. IBM Propnnter XL. 
ASCII 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
34 








I- I K S 


<) <) K S 


r|Ip F A C T 
« FILE 


IBM Pageprinter 

( continued from page S4) 

printer Adapter, and Page- 
printer Adapter Software make 
a fairly good team. And in con- 
trast to the LaserWriter Plus 
running on a PC, the Page- 
printer system returns error 
codes at least occasionally. 

I f you ' ve ever tried to print a 
lengthy PostScript file, which 
can take as long as 30 minutes 
for an extremely complex page, 
you’ll also appreciate the Page- 
printer’s speed for graphics-ex- 
tensive applications. Running 
the Pageprinter and the Laser- 
(continues on page S6) 


IBM8514/A 

( continued from pate JJ) 

lution VGA graphics mode, the 
8514 might cause speed degra- 
dations in graphics programs if 
it implemented only a normal 
memory-mapped video display 
buffer. However, the 8514 also 
contains specialized hardware 
to perform many high-level 
graphics functions, including 
the drawing of lines, filled ar- 
eas, text, and bit block transfers 
(bitblts). Application programs 
or 8514 drivers can take advan- 
tage of this hardware to achieve 
graphics display speeds that are 
much better than those associat- 
ed with the EGA or VGA. 

The 8514/A display adapter 
is built on two boards that snap 
together and fit in a special slot 
in the PS/2 Models 50, 60. or 
80. This special slot has addi- 
tional connectors that route vid- 
eo signals from the system 
board VGA to the 8514/A. 
Thus, the 85 14/A can add to the 
capabilities of the VGA without 
duplicating its functions. (An 
85 14/ A for the older PC bus Is 
not available.) 

The 8514 Memory Expan- 
sion Kit contains memory chips 
that go into the 8514/A board. 
Without these additional memo- 
ry chips, the 8514/A is limited 
to 16 simultaneous colors. 

Although you can use any 
PS/2 monitor with the 8514/A 
adapter, you're limited to a 640 
by 480 resolution unless you use 
the 8514 color display. IBM 
claims the 8514 display is 16 
inches diagonally, but it's been 


using a fisherman's ruler for 
measuring PS/2 displays. The 
visible area of the tube is only 
14 inches. This is not a large 
monitor such as those common- 
ly associated with engineering 
or desktop publishing worksta- 
tions. It has a disappointing 
low-contrast washed-out look 
indicative of the PS/2 color dis- 
plays. 

The total cost of an 85 1 4 sys- 
tem (adapter, memory expan- 
sion kit, and monitor) is $3. 1 10. 
This may seem high, but it is 
much lower than comparable 
systems that offer 256 colors at 
this resolution (see “Four-Fig- 
ure Video," PC Magazine, 
May 26, 1987). 

PC Labs tested the 85 1 4 vid- 
eo system with early versions of 
8514 drivers developed by Mi- 
crosoft for Windows, Version 
2.0. On a Model 60, Windows 
drew graphics over the full 
screen of the 85 1 4 at rates rang- 
ing from 1 Vz to 10 times as fast 
(depending on the drawing op- 
eration) than it does over the full 
screen of the VGA. Thus, the 
hardware assistance built into 
the 8514/A more than compen- 
sates for the greater resolution 
and color. 

Although IBM’s Profession- 
al Graphics Controller (PGC) 
included hardware-assisted 
graphics drawing, the PGC was 
geared toward the type of three- 
dimensional drawing associated 
with CAD applications. The 
hardware drawing operations of 


Display Adapter 8514/A 
IBM Ctnp. 

Consult your local authori<red 
IBM dealer. 

List Price: $1,290 
Requires: PS 2 Model 50. 60. 
or 80. 

In Short: The Display Adapter 
8514/A is IBM's hijh-end video 
bturd for the PS- 2 series. In the 
maximum configuration, the res- 
olution is 1 .024 by 768 with 256 
simultaneous colors. The board 
includes high-level drawing 
functions. 

CIRCLE 436 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


8514 Memory Expansion Kit 
IBM Corp, 

I.ist Price: $270 
Requires: Display Adapter 
85 14/ A. 


the 8514/A are more main- 
stream and are suitable for 
graphics windowing systems 
such as Windows and the OS/2 
Presentation Manager. In fact, 
the structure and protocols of 
the drawing functions available 
on the 8514/A are quite similar 
to those of the OS/2 graphics 
programming interface (GPI). 
which is the graphics part of the 
OS/2 Presentation Manager. 
This suggests that a Presenta- 
tion Manager driver for the 


In Short: These 16 memory 
chips plug into an 85 14/A to give 
you 256 simultaneous colors 
rather than 16. 

CIRCLE 437 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


Color Display 8514 

IBM Corp. 

List Price: $1,550 
Requires: PS/2 Mtxlcl 30. 50. 
60. or 80. 

In Short: The 8514 display is 
the only PS/2 iTKinitor capable of 
1 .024 by 768 resolution. It can be 
attached to any PS/2 computer, 
but it really only makes sense 
with an 8514/A. Like all of 
IBM'scolor monitors for the 
PS/2 series, the conuust and 
screen size arc disappointing. 
CIRCLE 438 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


8514/A might achieve a high 
level of efficiency and that the 
8514 may be an ideal video 
board for u.sc with OS/2. 

IBM also makes available 
virtual device interface (VDI) 
drivers for use with the 8514, 
technical reference documenta- 
tion. and an application devel- 
oper's tutorial package. 

When applications start to 
take advantage of this combina- 
tion. many heads will start to 
turn. (HB 


, i' IBM Graphics Standards: 

I 4 ^ From CGA to the Display Adapter 8514/A 


Maximum 

graphics Simultaneous 

IBM video adapter Introduced resolution colors 


Color Graphics Adapter (CGA) 

1981 

640 by 200 

2 out of 1 6 

Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) 

1984 

640 by 350 

1 6 out of 64 

Professional Graphics Controller (PGC) 

1984 

640 by 480 

256 out of 4.096 

Multi-Color Graphics Adapter (MCGA) 

1987 

640 by 480 

2 out of 256K 

Video Graphics Array (VGA) 

1987 

640 by 480 

16 out of 256K 

Display Adapter 851 4/A 

1987 

1 .024 by 768 

256 out of 256K 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
35 






I I H S 


(M> k S 


IBM Pageprinter 

( eontiaiud from page 35) 

Writer Plus side by side on a 
Model 80. we found the Page- 
printer to be slightly faster print- 
ing PostScript text but signifi- 
cantly faster when handling 
large amounts of graphics. 

For instance, our Bylines 
newsletter — used as a test publi- 
cation for PC Magazine desktop 
publishing comparisons — print- 


ed from PageMaker in about 
61/3 minutes on the Pageprinter 
but required slightly more than 
8 minutes on the LaserWriter 
Plus. The graphs and scanned 
image in the test publication re- 
quired a large amount of data 
transfer, allowing the Page- 
printer to take advantage of its 
high data transfer rate. 

But eliminating all graphs 
and images closed the gap. The 
trimmed-down file required 


about 4 minutes and 22 seconds 
on the Pageprinter and only 4 
minutes and 44 seconds on the 
LaserWriter Plus. 

All in all, the Personal Page- 
printer performs well and ships 
fora reasonable $4,999, includ- 
ing the adapter and software. 
But be prepared for some aggra- 
vation. You'll need to learn the 
utilities if you want to live 
peacefully with the printer. And 
having to load fonts from disk 


before printing rates as a major 
irritation and a shining example 
of thoughtless design. 

List Ihice: IBM 4216 Personal 
Pageprinter, S2. 199; Personal 
Pageprinter Adapter/ A . $ 1 .950; 
Personal Pageprinter Adapter 
Software. $850. IBM Corp., Old 
Orchard Rd..Annonk, NY 10504; 
(800) 447-4700 (for dealer 
locations). 

CIRCLE 454 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


HPVectraRS/20 

( continuedfrom page 33) 

out pretty well, especially if 
you're looking for a file server 
with good disk performance. 
An RS/20 equipped with a 
I03MB hard disk, 2MB RAM, 
and HP's EGA display and 
adapter comes in at $10,335, 
which is about $3,000 less than 
an equivalent PS/2 Mode) 80 
from IBM. 

HP’s cleverly designed sys- 
tem board probably looks like 
nothing you’ve seen before. A 
small (6 by 18 inches) planar 
sits at the bottom of the RS/20’s 
huge cabinet and contains the 
80386 processor and its 80387 
coprocessing companion. Wy- 
tek's 1 167 coprocessor is an op- 
tion. This same planar comes 
with a standard equipage of 
2MB RAM in the form of 70- 
nanosecond DRAM mounted 
on interleaved 2S5K SIMM 
modules. By using optional 
IMB SIMMs, the system can be 


configured to include up to 
16MB RAM. 

Unfortunately, the RS/20’s 
otherwise clever system board 
does not include a static memo- 
ry cache. That design decision 
explains the difference in CPU 
performance between the HP 
machine and its competition 
from Compaq and the Flex- 
Cache 20386 from ALR . It does 
not, however, explain why the 
RS/20 is a tad slower than 
IBM’s Model 80-111. 

The system board is attached 
at a 90-degree angle to an AT- 
compatible I/O board that in- 
cludes six 16-bit slots and four 
8-bit slots, along with a custom 
slot designed for the keyboard 
and mouse ports. The board, 
which can be run at an AT-stan- 
dard 8 MHz or at 10 MHz, also 
includes two custom 32-bit slots 
for memory expansion beyond 
the 16MB you can put on the 
system board. The company 
does not currently offer memory 
boards to Tit in these slots. 


The RS/20 can hold up to six 
half-height 5'/4-inch devices, 
and it comes equipped with a 
1.2MB floppy disk drive and, 
depending on which model you 
select, a Hewlett-Packard-built 
40MB, 103MB, 155MB, or 
310MB hard disk. Up to two 
hard disks can be supported by 
the disk controller. That means 
you can equip the RS/20 with up 
to 620MB of excellently per- 
forming hard disks that, when 
combined with the heavy-duty 
design of the whole system, 
make the RS/20 an ideal file 
server for a local area network. 

There is what looks like (in 
electronic component terms) 
acres of space on the I/O board 
for expansion. There’s enough 
real estate on a blank RS/20 I/O 
board to build a Micro Channel 
architecture-compatible bus, 
and — who knows — it’s even 
possible that such a bus could be 
built to coexist on the same 
board with the standard PC- 
style bus. iii5^ 


y, F A C T 
M F I L E 


HP Vectra RS/20 
Hewlett-Packard Co. 

3000 Hanover St. 

Palo Alto. CA 94304 
(415)857-1501 
List Price: Model 40 ( 1 MB 
RAM. 40MB harddisk). 
$7,495; Model 100(2MB 
RAM. 103MB harddisk). 
$8,995; Model 150(2MB 
RAM. IS5MB hard disk). 
$9,995: Model 300 (2MB 
RAM, 310MB hard disk). 
$11,995. 

In Short: An oversized 20* 
MHz 386-ba.scd PC with good 
performance at a good price and 
tots of room for expansion. 
CIRCLE 455 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


I Benchmark Ihsts: HP Vectra RS/20 vs. 

IBM PS/2 Model 80-111 and Compaq Deskpro 386/20 

T he st oo ping giant anrakes: Hewlott-Packard^ flamothroMor ranks among 
Ihotastest PCs you can buy. Compaq)} sopNsticaled memorymanage- 
mont scheme keeps the Deskpro 386/20 up front on raw computing power, but 
the HP Vectra RS^ matohes (3ompeq^ hard disk. 


Parformanee Timaa 

(Timae given in seconds except where noted) 

86386 

iMtraeUoe 

6108 

Disk 

SHk 

Product 

NUP 

Mix 

(mitliseconds) 

IBM PS/2 Model 80-111 

1.7 

3.2 

32.7 

Compaq Deskpro 366/20 

1.7 

2.9 

18.5 

HP Vectra RS/20 

1.7 

3.2 

18.0 





flalathro Times 

(l6MPS/2McxW80-1t1 • 


100) 


Ths NOP benchmark test is design»d to msesure raw 
dock speed artd memory access time while mMmizIng 
dtfferawes in microprocessors and the effect of memory 
caching. This test SMSCules ahnoal nothing but NOP (*>10 
Operaion’l machine code mstruclion in a big 128K h^. 


The eosas inetnictlon Mh benchmark lest measures 
theMrrwIttakestosxeciitsa ce lect o daerteeof proces- 
8or-inlBn8k«laekB.Thelsstproeramuses60366in- 
stnidion code. Thses instructions are a subset of the 
torn processor instructkm set TTa 60366 Instruction Mix 
implamen ts a number of 32-bit operations. In the 80386 
processor these become single mstrtxtions. whereas m 
the 8086 aid 80266 versiorts of the benchmark test they 
remain multipte Instructions. 


The BIOS Disk Sash benchmark lest measures the tima 
it takes to do a random seek using the diska ROM BIOS. 
The test result InciudaB minimal software (M W h eo d and 
maynotparallaithemarHjtaciurerhclaimedaverageao- 
ceas time. The Mt program performs 1.000 seeks. The 
ai«rage resuN Is shown In rniWeeconds. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
36 





LaserJet font Nirvana. 
Or your $99.’’ back. 


Witness a LaserJet miracle. 

Glyphix generates a dazzling variety of 
downloadable fonts from a set of four flexible 
typeface outlines. 

Working with your PC, Glyphix makes 
creating a font as simple as picking an effect 
from a menu. Select sizes from 6 to 60 point. 
Choose from 14 different weights. Portrait or 
landscape. Condensed. Expanded. Slanted. 
Patterned. Shaded. The possibilities? Mil- 
lions of them. 


Microsoft Word. WordPerfect, 
Glyphix and our font managers: 
a match made in heaven. 

Let our font managers free you from the 
Purgatory of using fonts with Microsoft 
Word® and WordPerfect*. Sorting through 
PRD files and printer drivers is a thing of 
the past. 

Our managers build fonts right into Word 
and WordPerfect, giving you the freedom to 
change font as often as you like. Best of all, 
the font managers use Glyphix to create and 
download your fonts automatically, liberating 
megabytes of disk space from font storage. 
With a Glyphix font set and a font manager, 
you have an army of fonts at your fingertips. 

If you're using Aldus Pagemaker* or Ven- 
tura Publisher®, you're ready to use Glyphix. 
(Any package that can read HP soft fonts 
can manage Glyphix fonts.) 




GLYPHIX 


HP 


Bitstream 


FONTS TO 60 POINT 


FONT SCALING 


DEGREES OF BOLD 


PATTERNED FONTS 


300 x 300 DOT QUALITY 


TIME TO CREATE 30 POINT FONT 


PRICE 



Let the Glyphix Basics lead you through the pearly gates. 


The Basics is a collection of four 
typeface outlines, each representing 
one of the major lettering styles. 
Roman, our version of Times 
Roman®, is a classical serif face that 
has become a standard for body 
copy. Helvette, our version of 
Helvetica" , is a modern sans serif 
face designed for presentations and 
headlines. 


Chancelor is a decorative face 
that reflects a cursive handwritten 
look. And rounding out the family 
is Rockland, a versatile square serif 
font that commands attention in 
headline and body copy. 

The Glyphix Basics. The Glyphix 
Font Managers. Products that give 
your documents a look of celestial 
beauty. Order yours today. 


r------------- n 

j Take me to Heaven! ! 

□ Send me the Glyphix 
Basics for $99.95. 

□ Send me your MS Word 
Font Manager for $79.95. 

□ Send me your WordPerfect 
Manager for $79.95. 

□ Send me a catalog of all 
the Glyphix type 
! collections. 

I Name Telephone 

I Address 

I City State Zip 

I ORDER TOLL FREE: 

I (800) 237-9383 

I IN DELAWARE CALL (302) 733-0956 

I Include $5.(X) shipping and handling for one item. $2.50 each additional 
* item. Mail orders to SWFTE International, Box 5773, Wilmington, DE 19806. 

I Money back guarantee is extended for 30 days from the date of sale. 

I. j 


Glyphix Basics; 
Roman 
Helvette 
CfumceCor 
Rocklcmd 


CIRCLE 299 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


PCM 3/29/88 





I K S 1 LOOKS 


More Font Effects to Dazde 
The Screen and Printed Page 


UYi^UoutsI 

Foai In*tatl«t(on For Uaatur* PubUchar 
CC) He? SoFtCfft, Jac. 




out Pipactor^: 

:\ 

nn 

1 CMCEL 1 

4 0LDE28.F0tl 

1 CONFIC 1 


TM ALL 


UnTAC ALL 



Use the Mouse or cursor keys to select the proper screeo font extension 
Select 'Other' to specify * screen font extension not listei. 

Click hoth MQine keys or hit KSC tn sbort- 


SoftCraft's W YSlfonts! comes with programs to install screen anti printer fonts for 
hoth PageMaker and Veniuni Publisher desktop publishing packages . 


j tile £dit Fear fitvl* Siis fick flitt 


_ 

I i4 I SnUpt U » 4«MM /swf jtf 

TIttp V n(«ck m a UImJahi/ /apcca 4aaI i 

This is !4*point Hobo in a Windows scrocn font 
Thb is 14-point Wind&or in & screen font 
This n 14 mat Stmt CMpretted, aaottep fait trt Me lor beodlMes 

This is bkoric diMi bold, »hh its cvrIovs capItaIs in loaiR-CASt 
And this is dignified Bsskervilie, which looks better on psper 
And tht *taUi BaiktriiiU m even more degnilnd in style . 

(B/ compaftton. these ere the old stenob/$. Helvetica mdlWi Ponsn ] 


Six headline fonts and mo styles of Baskerville from Bitstream's new Foniwarc Type- 
face Packages, seen here mo PC Paintbrush file. The screen fonts are. of course, at a 
much lower rr.w/«/ion than that of the printer fonts. 


HANDS ON 


BY EDWARD MENDELSQN 

Arc you tired of Helvetica Bold 
in all those headlines in your 
desktop publications? Soft- 
Craft’s $95 Font Effects takes 
any bit-mapped soft font and 
transforms it into a subtle or out- 
rageous variation on the origi- 
nal. You can modify any HP- 
style bit-map font for the 
LaserJet or work from Soft- 
Craft’s fonts for either lasers or 
dot matrix printers. 

Two-Toned Fonts 

Font Effects lets you replace 
the funereal black of existing 
fonts with an unlimited range of 
patterns, outlines, and 
shades — anything from bold 
stripes to checkerboards to fine 
weaves. You can put frames or 
shadows around characters or 
make fonts print out as white- 
on-black. You can even create 
two-color fonts by printing 
fonts and shadows separately on 
a color printer. Font Effects 
works only with bit-mapped 
fonts. Users of PostScript out- 
line fonts can get similar effects 
from Corel’s Newfont (see re- 
view next issue). 

Automatic Installation 

Modifying fonts takes time, 
but a screen preview mode lets 
you save time and paper, and 
you can save even more lime by 
modifying only a few characters 
rather than an entire font. 

But you won't want to modi- 
fy a font if you then have to en- 


dure the headache of installing it 
manually in Microsoft Win- 
dows. PageMaker, or Ventura 
Publisher. SoflCrafl’s $95 WY- 


S/fonts! automatically installs 
all your printer fonts, no matter 
where you got them, and even 
creates a screen font to match 
each printer font. These screen 
fonts won’t win any prizes for 
elegance or sharpness, but they 
do the job. 

You have to buy or create a 
font before you can modify or 
install it. The best engine for 
creating soft fonts is still Bit- 
stream’s Fontware Typeface 
Packages, which creates bit- 
map fonts for LaserJets or out- 
line fonts for PostScript printers 
and installs them in either Win- 
dows or Ventura. Bitstream’s 


Modffied 

Modified 

Variations on Bitstream's new Baskers ille font, achieved using Font Effccts. 


Fontware also creates screen 
fonts when it creates printer 
fonts, but unlike WYSlfonts!, 
Bitstream’s package can’t de- 
rive screen fonts from fonts you 
already own or from fonts modi- 
fied by programs like Font Ef- 
fects. 

SoftCrafl sells a version of 
Fontware that creates bit-map 
printer fonts only, but in a much 
greater variety of character sets 
than Bitstream's. Both versions 
use separate typeface packages 
as raw data for creating individ- 
ual fonts. Bitstream has just is- 
sued ten more of these pack- 
ages, including an elegant 
Baskerville and a variety of eye- 
catching headline styles. You 
may never use Helvetica 
again. [Hij 


]T|; F A C T 
F I L E 


Font Effects 
WYSlfonts! 

SoftCraft Inc, 

16N,Cam»llSl..#500 

Madison. WI 5370.T 

(«0()) 351-0500 

(608)257-3300 

List Price: Font Effects. $95; 

WYSlfonts!. S95. 

Requires: Microsoft Windows 
or Ventura Publisher. DOS 2.0 
or later. 

In Short: Font Effects offers 
extravagant special effects for 
HPor SofiCraft’sdot matrix 
bit-map fonts. WYSlfonts! pro- 
duces screen fonts to match ex- 
isting soft fonts for Windows or 
Ventura. Not copy protected. 

CIRCLE 441 ON REAMR SERVICE CARO 


Fontware Typeface Packages 
Bitstream Inc. 

215 First St. 

Cambridge. MA 02142 

(617)497-6222 

(Also available from SoftCraft 

Inc.) 

List Price: $195 each. 
Requires: Bitstream's or .Soft- 
Craft’s Fontware fiinl-creation 
pixigram. 

in Short: Make-yuurniwn soft 
fonts in ten new styles; 20 other 
packages already available. Not 
copy protected. 

CIRCLE 442 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
38 







ML St Helens 
CanTeadi Us A Lot 
About Hard Disks. 



Like a dormant 
volcano, your hard 
disk is a disaster 
waiting to happen. It 
can blow at anytime. 

.And most people don't 
do anything to protect 
themselves. 

They think the only way 
to backup files is to do the 
whole disk. And that it 
takes too long. They’re wrong 
on both counts. 

With FASTBACK PLUS, daily 
seltt:ti\'e file backup should take 
no more than a minute. In fact, 
backing up a full 10 megabytes 
on your hard disk can take as 
little as only 4 minutes.* And 
that makes FASTBACK PLUS the 
world's fastest backup 

Unsurpa.ssed 
data compression to cut 
the number of backup 
disb in half, advanced 
error correction, 


’Vtxh n. AT or ruMvidciii. 

XT mwhinn will ukr lonRiT 


A Minute 
ay Keeps 
ter Away 


A 


easy to use 
graphic dis- 
play and sup- 
J . port for DOS h'/i 
or 514 inch floppies, 
prompted PC 
.Magazine to nominate 
FASTBACK PLUS for its cov- 
eted Technical Excellence 
Award. The same tech- 
nical excellence that 
made FASTBACK the all-time 
j besLselling backup utility. 
Don't trust your data to 
anything less. 



EEHMB 


Pipeline 


Top Ten Sellers 


I J.K. Lasser’s Your Income Tax 

I Simon & Schuster Software 


I Quicken 2.0 

Intuit 


I Lotus 1-2-3 2.01 
I Lotus Development Corp. 


WordPerfect 4.2 

WordPerfect Corp. 


I t's not often that Lotus ! -2-3 
loses its number-one posi- 
tion in PC software sales. Major 
upgrade.s of other popular ap- 
plications will sometimes 
shoulder their way to the top 
when they’re first introduced, 
but I ‘2-3 regains the top 
spot as soon as the pent- 
up demand is satis- 


Turbo Pascal 4.0 

Borland International Inc. 


Sylvia Porter's Swlftax 

Timeworks Inc. 



IN PERSPECTIVE 


The Top Ten Sellers list ranks PC 
business programs according to their sales 
performance in the last week of a 5-week pe- 
riod. It also tracks programs' rankings overtime, in 
this issue (reading left to right) from December 21 
through January 22. A S-week history is charted to give a 
sense of a program’s sales strength over time. Dramatic shifts in 
a particular program’s ranking may be the result of sales promotions 
conducted by individual retailers. Or seasonal factors, such as end-of- 
year-budget purchase decisions, may play a large role in the performance 
of a panicular program in any period. More than 1 2.000 individual locations con- 
tribute to the list. 


Sales information compiled by Ingram Software Inc. 


fled after 2 or 3 weeks. Tax 
season generates that kind of 
sudden wave. 

Tax preparation software al- 
ways ships later than its pub- 
lishers would like, since the 
IRS publishes final guidelines 
late in the tax year (usually 
October or November). Pro- 
grammers then rush to get their 
packages ready for the public. 
By the time the programs are 
finally bug-free (this year, it 
was in late January), John Q. 
Publics across the country are 
lined up. 

J.K. Lasser’s Your Income 
Tax and Sylvia Porter's 
Microsoft Windows 2.03 Swiftax have gotten 
Microsoft Corp. out of the block the 


PFS:First Publisher 

Software Publishing Corp. 


I PC Tools Deluxe 

I Central Point Software 



im QuickBASIC 4.0 


Microsoft Corp. 




Rankings are based 


on net sales by unit: 


returns are sub- 


tracted from gross 


sales. 





How do you learn 
new software? 




Reader Service answered our request to rate the 
various ways of learning software. Despite what the 
people who answer the tech help lines at software 
companies will tell you, reading the manual is still 
considered the best way to learn. 

The general consensus is that going back and 
forth between the manual and experimentation is 
the preferred method. 

Probably the biggest surprise was the answer to 
our “obstacles-to-leaming” question. A mere 59 
percent of the re^ndenis said poorly written 
manuals were the greatest obstacle: we expected 
even more doc bashing. Many people added the 
comment that "lack of time" was their greatest 
problem. To that we add: amen. 


I I Raatfthamanual □ ABendachas 

I I Consult an «qMH user |_J Read a good 'guida* book 

I I BqMrimenlonyguroNn 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
40 












I- 1 K S 1 LOOKS 


WAITING IN THE WINGS 


The head-to-head competition bctviccn Borland and Microsoft for 
programmers' loyalties rages on. u ith only the languages changing. 
Borland’s update to the wildly popular Turbo Pascal has given it the 
upper hand for the moment, and the 1 .5 release of TurboC (essentially 
a bug fix for the very sloppy initial release) is doing well at number 16 
on the list. 

But Microsoft has some cards it's getting ready to show; a slew of 
languages for OS/2. The first releases won't provide access to OS/2’s 
interprocess communication and multiple thread of execution calls. 
The big challenge; writing a fully tlcshcd-oui OS/2 language and 
selling it at a fair price. 


fastest, but ChipSotVs Turbo- 
Tax is not far off the pace at 
number 17. 

Lasser is an annual best- 
seller. and TurhoTax has stead- 
ily gained ground in recent 
years, but Syivia Porter's Swif- 
tax is debuting with the '87 tax 
year. It’s part of a new series 
from Timeworks that features 
the syndicated newspaper 
columnist’s advice spread over 
three modules: tax help, invest- 
ment management, and per- 
sonal finances (see After 
Hours. PC Magazine, Novem- 
ber 24. 1987). 

Celebrity names are starting 
to work for software just as 
much as they do for other con- 
sumer goods: Chuck Yeager’s 
name on a flight simulation 
game helped that program out- 
sell the ever-popular Microsoft 
Flight Simulator within 2 
months of the first shipments. 
It’s proved so successful that 
Electronic Arts tapped Earl 
Weaver to consult on a new 
baseball game. The rumor mill 
says that John Madden and 
Michael Jordan will soon put 
their names on sporting games. 

Another personal finance 
package is also in the Top Ten 
this time: Quicken, a $49 
checkbook manager. It's al- 
ways been a strong seller that 


has flirted with stardom, and 
this issue's results will proba- 
bly turn out to be a statistical 
blip. Quicken's rank is usually 
somewhere between 10and2S. 

V(iA Making Its W ay, Slowly 
Sales of VGA hardware have 
been less than brisk since the 
first boards for PCs and ATs ap- 
peared last fall. The likely rea- 
son: all of the players haven't 
yet checked in. Paradise, which 
did very well with its better- 
than-EGA standard, has run 
into some last-minute technical 
difficulties on its VGA board 
and is still not shipping it. Since 
Paradise took a very firm stance 
early on that the board would be 
hardware compatible with 
IBM's adapter while others 
started to ship boards compat- 


ible only at the BIOS level, a 
wait-and-see attitude has de- 
veloped at the cash register. 

That waiting may be ex- 
tended by the news that Trident 
(a start-up fueled by renegades 
from Genoa) is ready to ship 
VGA chips that it claims are 
five times faster than IBM's 
chips. Trident has to convince 
board makers that the chip’s 
extra speed is worth the risk of 
going with a newcomer rather 
than sticking with tried-and- 
true graphic chip designers like 
Chips and Technologies. Tseng 
Labs, and Paradise. So 
Trident’s design may never 
make it into a board you can 
buy. but it could be a factor by 
the end of the year. 

The really sad part of the 
VGA story is the lack of soft- 


ware running in VGA's hi-res 
(640 by 480) graphics mode, 
which uses 16 colors out of a 
palette of 262.144. 

IBM dazzled everybody with 
colorful demos last April, but 
software publishers are still 
wailing to see more VGA in the 
field before they put any more 
irons in the fire. Somebody 
ought to clue (hem in: software 
sells hardware. 

Final Pit Slop for the 2K6 
The evolution of 286 PCs seems 
to be in its la.st cycle. AMD 
(Advanced Micro Devices) still 
can t deliver 16-MHz 80286 
chips in volume. They’re trick- 
ling out. and many compatible 
makers have resorted to the old 
trick of using slower (12-MHz) 
chips (hat hold up under testing 
at 16 MHz. And now AMD 
finds it can’t raise the cash 
needed to carry out its plans for 
24-MHz 286 chips. Also a fac- 
tor: fear of Intel's long-awaited 
P9 chips, the 80386-compat- 
ible processor that was rumored 
to be pin compatible with 286s 
but is now said to plug into the 
286 socket via a small adapter 
board. The future belongs to the 
386, and ever since Intel cut 
AMD out of that market (here's 
been no funding to fuel 286 
progress. — C«s Venditto 


How would you advise a new 
user to learn new software? 


What's your greatest obstacle 
in learning software? 


What's the greatest obstacle for 
new users learning new software? 




50 

















|— 1 


n 

I 

r-.l~l 

1 




^nn 


□ Poorly wntten manuals f ] Bad program design □ Other 

I [ Poor ofHrte help □ Fmdmg a class 

□ Lack ot standanXred ewnmand structures [ | Fmdmg an expert user to consult 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
41 




DiskOptimizef.The original un^fr^ment software 
now has un-format.Un-'believable! 


It's still the safest, most effective way to 
put the zip back in hard disk performance. 

For more than two years now, Disk 
Optimizer has helped PC users everywhere 
safely restore and maintain the smwth, 
slick, fast performance of their hard disks. 

And now there’s a new and improved 
Disk Optimizer that un-fragments files even 
more effectively. And includes enough 
additional disk management tools to 
make it one of the best software values 
anyu'here. 

So, who needs Disk Optimizer, anyway? 

Simply everyone who owns a hard disk 
and relies on the speed and convenience it 
gives them. 

That’s because DOS is constantly slow- 
ing your hard disk down . 1 1 does i r by 
breaking files up into pieces. Storing differ- 
ent chunks in different places. And that 
makes everything slower- loading, sorting, 
retrieving, backing up- because your hard 
disk has to chase all around to read and 
write different pieces of your file. 

Disk Optimizer restores the speed of your 
hard disk by putting files back together in 
one contiguous piece -where they belong. 


Disk Optimizer is absolutely, positively 
“disaster proof.” 

It’s sad but true. St>me other un- 
fragmenting software could lose your data if 
something goes wrong in the process. Like a 
routine reading or writing error. Or even a 
power failure. 

But have no fear with Disk Optimizer. 
Nothing will go wrong because nothing cun 
go wrong. Even if you yank the plug from 
the wall in the middle of the program. It's 
because only Disk Optimizer copies each 
file, piece by piece, then checks the newly 
un-fragmented version for completeness. 
Only then dt^s it go back and erase the 
fragmented version. Not power spikes, 
disk failures or DOS errors- not even 
earthquakes - can cause data loss. And only 
Disk Optimizer makes you that promise. So 
why trust your disk to anyone else ! 

It's like a precision tune-up for your disk. 

In addition to un-fragmenting, Disk 
Optimizer also lets you quickly choose 
the optimum layout for your disk. So your 
most-used files have the fastest access. And 
program and other unchanging files can 
be permanently un-fragmented and set 
aside on their iwn area on the disk. 


.J 

I 


->ve reviews. 

/"/"rmirmi Syutmiy NY 


The simple menu makes it a snap. 

Un-format - one of the powerful new 
reasons to buy Disk Optimizer 

Oops! Make a simple mistake at the key- 
board and you could wipe out your hard disk 
with a'DOS Format command. But don’t 
worry. "Un-format" will recover your entire 
disk, and all your data, in just moments. It’s 
included with your new Disk Optimizer. 

Plus, you get the new "Analyze” program 
with a graphical display that shows your disk's 
condition so you’ll always know when it’s 
time to optimize again. You also get "Sorts" 
for oiganizing directories for the best appear- 
ance and sequence. "Findfile” for searching 
out hard to find files. “Delfile" for locating 
and erasing unwanted files. "Lock" and 
"UnlcKk" for file security. And more. 

You could spend hundreds on other utilities 
and still not get all the functionality packed 
into Disk Optimizer at no extra charge. 

Use it once and you’ll discover what 
nearly 200,000 users already know- 
$69.95 is a small price to pay for the speed, 
convenience and safety you get only with 
Disk Optimizer. 

Look for the new Disk Optimizer 
at software dealers everywhere. Or order 
directly from SciftLogic Solutions by call- 
ing us toll-free. 

^ O^imizer *^69^^ 

SqftLogic 

SOLUTIONS 

SoftLogic Solutions, Inc. 

One Perimeter Road 
Manchester. NH 05103 
800-272-9900 (603-627-9900 in NH) 

CaU 800-272-9900 

l-Z-lKatrxistcrcJ (r*lcriurk<il Lulus [)cvck<f>tMncG<tpmthn. 

#6 


CIRCLE 334 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


I k S 1 LOOKS 


$195 Brief: The Right Tooi for Editing Code 



Brier s biwk moves and lexi formaiiiiif! make ihe applU arion quite helpful in eJilinK 
program code, hut the macro functions are remarkable . 


HANDS ON 


BY HOWARD MARKS 

Some PC users live by an old 
saying that goes; when all you 
have is a hammer, everything 
looks like a nail. They use 1-2-3 
as a word processor and use 
word processors to edit their 
program code. 

A professional carpenter 
knows the value of proper tools, 
and a professional programmer 
is likely to prefer a program- 
mer’s editor for code writing. 

The difference between a 
word processor and a program- 
mer’s editor is rooted in the dif- 
ference between programs and 
the written word. The basic 
units of English documents are 
words, sentences, and para- 
graphs, while program files are 
made up of lines. Therefore the 
features of a good word proces- 
sor (like left margins and word 
wrap) get in the way while you 
edit programs. In addition, most 
word processors keep their files 
in unique formats, while the 
language programs that process 
program files require ASCII 
text files. 

Brief lets you open as many 


windows as you like into differ- 
ent files or into different areas of 
the same file. Changes made in 
one window are automatically 
reflected in any other open win- 
dows. 

Unlike most editors' limited 
undelete function. Brief s undo 
can reverse almost any com- 
mand. including block moves. 
You can mark blocks by col- 
umn. character, or line and then 
perform all sorts of manipula- 
tions on the marked block. You 
can search and replace (which 


Brief calls “transform”) on the 
block, move it. and even con- 
vert the whole block to upper- 
case. 

Brief s macros are incredi- 
ble. You can remap the key- 
board, fix your program’s in- 
dentation, or anything else you 
can think of. You can even as- 
sign macros to keys and use 
them as if they were built-in 
flnV/commands. 

You can even set up Brief to 
return to the same exact spot in 
the program you were editing 


the next time you load it. 

Brief is handy for C pro- 
grammers, since it automatical- 
ly indents their programs for 
maximum readability . 

Those of you still using 
WordStar to edit your programs 
will be amazed at how much 
easier it is to use the right tools 
for the job. 5^ 


nTQ F A C T 

file 


Brief, Version 2.01 
.Solution Systems 
541 Main Si.. #410 
South Weymouth. MA 02190 
(617)337-696.1 
List Price: $195 
Requires: 192K RAM. two 
disk drives (hard disk recom- 
mended). DOS 2, 1 or later. 

In Short: A very powerful pro- 
grammer’s editor. Strong points 
include unlimited windowing, 
support for EGA 43-line mode, 
macros, full undo, and automat- 
ic indenting. Strongly recom- 
mended. Not copy pmtected. 
CIRCLE 453 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


eSc^e IMary Takes the C 
Screen Woik Out of Your Hands 


HAND.S ON 


BY STEPHEN RANDY 
DAVIS 

It didn’t create major waves 
when it was first released, but 
the second version of The Oak- 
land Group’s screen manage- 
ment program. C-Scape, could 
send C programmers reeling. 

C-Scape is a library of some 
200 procedures that will simpli- 
fy the rapid creation of attrac- 
tive and fiexible text menus un- 
der any of the popular C 
compilers. C-Scape is well 
thought out, using object-ori- 
ented techniques based around 


the “printf’ concept familiar to 
C programmers. Included with 
C-Scape is an improved version 
of Oakland’s screen designer 
and code generator. Look & 
Feel. 

Individual menus may be of 
the pop up. pull down, or ex- 
ploding variety (with free 
choice of border), and they may 
be stacked on top of each other. 
Menus created with C-Scape are 
limited in size only by available 
RA.M— auto-scrolls 
menus onto the available 80- 
column and 25-. 43-, or 50-row 
display. You have full control 
of each of the fields within the 
menu, and you can define your 


own data types for individual 
fields using C-Scape's field 
functions. C-Scape does not 
support graphics display modes 
or rodent input. 

The Look & Feel display 
editor reduces display develop- 
ment time by taking displays 
and generating C programs 
(containing C-Scape calls) to 
produce them. Look & 
Fee/-gcneraied C programs can 
be edited and fine-tuned. Look 
& Feel also accepts screens gen- 
erated by Dan Bricklin's Demo 
Program. 

C-Scape comes with 500 
pages of clear documentation. 
No royalties are required for 



FACT 

FILE 


C ‘Scape (with Look & Feet) 
The Oakland Group 
675 Massachusetts Ave. 
CamtHidge, MA 02139 
(800)233-3733 
(617)491-7311 
List Price: Borland Turbo C 
and Microsoft C Versions (ob- 
ject only). $99.95: source code 
version. $279: demo disk, $10. 
In Short: An involved but pow- 
erful screen-handling package 
for C. Not copy protected. 
CIRCLE 452 ON READER SERVICIE CARD 


programs developed using C- 
Scape. In addition, you can pur- 
chase C-Scape's source code. 
An inexpensive demo disk is 
available to the skeptical. 12^ 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
43 








&ITECI-I IS/IIC 

LogiMouse with Logi Cadd 

Logj Buss Mouse with Logi Cadd . . 
LogiMouse with Publisher 

$110 


Call 

$ 89 

$ 89 

Logi Buss Mouse with Publisher 


LogiMouse 

LogiMouse with Paint . . . . 
Logi Buss Mouse with Paint 


Word Perfect/Wo^ Perfect Library Bundle 


' Lotus Hai Bundle 

‘379 


Lotus 1-2* 


WORD PROCESSORS 

Easy Extra 

Leading Edge W.PwSpell & Merg 

Micfosott Word 4 0 

Uulltmate Advantage II 

PFS Professionai Write 

Volkswriter 3 

Volkswriter Deluxe Plus 

Webster New World Writer .... 

Webster Spell Checker 

Webster Thesaurus 

Word Perlect 

Word Perlect Executive 

Word Perlect Library 

Wordstar Pro Pack 4 0 

Wordstar 2000 Plus 30 


TRAINING 

Chuck Yeager Adv. FlighI Simulator . . $ 

Lets C 

Mastertype 

Mavis Beacon Typing 

MS Learning DOS < 

MS FlighI Simulator I 

PC Logo 

Turbo Tutor tl 

Typing Instructor 

Typing Tutor IV 

DATA BASE MANAGEMENT 

Clipper $ 

dBase III Plus 

dBase IN LAN 

DB-XL 

Eureka 

Fox Base Plus 

Genrfer 

Knowledgeman II Promo Pack 

Nutshell 

Paradox 2.0 ' 

PFS; ProfessKjnal File 

QiA 

Quekcode Plus 

Rapid File 

Revelatioo 

Revelation Bump Disk 

R Base Gout (New Ver.) 

R;Base Ext. Report Wrrter (New Ver.) . 

RBase 5000 System V 

Reflex 

VP Expert ' 

VP Into 

COMMUNICATIONS 

Carbon Copy Plus S 

CompuServe Starter Kit 

Crosstab XVI 

Crosstalk Mark IV 

Mirror II 


QRAPHICS/MICE 

Chartmaster 

Diagram Master 

Energraphics 2.02 

Freelance Plus 

Generic CAD wttot Plot 3.0 

Harvard Graphics 2.1 

IMSI Mouse (PC Mouse) wtir. III 

IrvA-Visioo 

Map Master 

Microsoft Buss Mouse 1.0 

Microsoft Chart 3.0 

Microsoft Serial Mouse 1.0 

News Room 

News Room Prolessionai 

PC Buss Plus Mouse (New Ver )w pant 
PC Mouse (New Ver.) w'paint .... 

Prlntmaster Plus 

Print Shop 

Signmaster 

Turbo Graphix Tool Box 

VPGraphix 

Windows Draw!! wiCkp Art 


1 DIR Plus 

Bookmark 

Brooklyn Bridge .... 

Carousel 2.0 

Copy I! PC 

Cop^e 

Corelast 

Cruise Control . . . . 

Cubit 

Disk Optimizer 2.0 . ■ 
Disk Technician .... 
Double DOS 4 0 ... 
DS Back-Up Plus . . . 

Fastback 

Fastback Plus 

Hometase 2.5 .... 

Keyworks 

Mace Uhlihes 

Microsoft Wiitoows 2.0 
Norton Commander . . 
Norton Utilities 4.0 . . 

Note It Plus 

Noteworthy 

PC Tools Deluxe . . . 

Pnntworks 

Referee 

Sidekick (Unprotected) 

Sideways 

Smart Notes 

SQ2 

Superkey 

Take Two MGR .... 
Tuibo EdiorTooiBox 
Unlock A. or B Plus . . 

Unlock 0 Plus 

XTree 


MONEY MANAGEMENT 

Dollars & Sense w Forcast 

Tobias Managing Your Money 4.0 .. . 


SPREADSHEETS 

(Cambridge Analyst 

4 Word 

HAL 

Lotus 1-2-3 Ver. 2.01 

Lotus Manuscript 

Lotus Report Writer 

MS Excell 

Multipian 3.0 

PFS Plan 

Supercaic4 

Twin Classic 

VP Planner 

VP Planner Plus 

ACCOUNTING 
BPI-Gl, AiR, K'?, Payroll . . . 

Compiler Associates 

OAC Easy Accounting 

OAC Easy Payrol 

In-House Accountant 

One Write Plus 2.0 

One Write AR. AP, Payrolt . . . 
TimeSlips 


Newsmaster 


PFS First Publisher 
Ventura Pitoltshing . 


UNOUAQES 

Basic Compiler (Microsoft) . . . 

C Compiler (Microsoft) 

Cobol Compiler (MicrosoR) . . . 
Fortran Compiler (Microsoft) 4.0 

Lattice C Compiler 

Macro Assembler (Microsoft) . . 

Ryan McFartan Fortran 

Ryan McFartan Cobol 

Pascal Compiler (Microsoft) . . 

Quick Basic 4.0 

QuickC 

Turbo Basic 

Turbo C 

Turbo Jumbo Pack 3.0 

Turbo Pascal 4.0 

Turbo Prolog 

Turbo Prolog Toolbox 


ACCESSORIES 

Copy II Option Board 

Masterpiece 

Masterpiece Plus 

Masterpiece Remote 

MousePad by Mousetrac . . . 
Summasketch 12x12 Plus . . . 


Smartcom III 

INTEGRATIVE SOFTWARE 

Ability Plus 

Enable 20 1 

Framework II 

MS Works 

PFS; 1st Choice 

Smart Software System Best F 

Symphony 


PROJECT MANAGEMENT 

Harvard Total Protect Manager II . . . $ 309 

Microsoft Project 4.0 Call 

Super Project Plus 269 

Timeline 20 259 



lOMW Speed 


Turbo POXT w 640K & iDnve . 

Turbo PC/XT Mf'640K & 2 Drives 

Turbo POXT W'640K. t Drive & 20 MG . 
Turbo PCXT w 640K. 1 Drive & 30 MG 
PC 286 12 1^2 Zero Wail Slate W/1024K. 

1.2 Fkjppy Drive 

PC 286 12 MHz Zero Wat State w 1024K. 

1.2Roppy.40MG 

PC 386 16 MHz. 1 MG RAM. 1 Dnve. 40 MG 
MonGraphics Card with ParaHel Pnnter Port . 
Cokx Card w f araltel Printer Port 
Amber Monrtorw Swivel Tilt (TTL) . 

AT Multi I/O Card 

XT Multi 10 Card 

Cotor Morator (RGB) 

Autoswitch EGA Ca^ . ... 

10 Card (Senal/Paraliel) 

I/O Card (Seriai/Clock Calendar) 

Enhanced Keyboard 

t200B Modem (INT) WSW 

1200B Modem (EXT) W;SW 

24008 Modem (INT) W.SW . . . 

2400B Modem (EXT) W-SW . 


TURBO PC/XT 


2$6K Memory. 360K Brand 
Name Floppy Drive. 

135 Watt Power Supply 
Slide Case. AT Style KeybMrd, 
4-10 MHz Clock Speed. 
(Keyboard Selectable), 

8 Expansion Slots 


MSKDMVES 

Bernoulli Boi 

10 Meg 

20 Meg 

40 Meg 

Bela Exi 

BetaM 

Segate 

20 MG w WD CortroHer . . . 
Tmc 

U MEG AT 

Toshiba 

3i*XT 

Everti Tape Beck-Up 

Mourrowt 

Amdek Momlors 

NEC 

Moiasync » 

Other Models 

Princeton Qraphica Monitors . 

Sony Multiscan 

Mttaibishi Diamond Scan . . . . 

Zenrth 1490 

TOHMNALS 

Qume 

tot Plus Green 

101 Plus Amber 


AST 

Pack Plus ... . 
Otoer Models . . . . 
ATI 

EGA Wonder ... 

VIP Plus 

Hercules 

CoiorCard 

(jraphcsCard . . . 
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AJi Models 


1200 

12006 

24006 

Prometheus 
t2006wSoriware 
24006 wSoltware 
Other Models . . . 
US Robotics 


Cibzen Printers 

MSP-40 

MSP-4S 

MSP-50 

MSP-55 

1800 

PrenverSS . . . . 

1200 

Dyconics 

ISO 

Epson Printers . . . 
Hewiett Pickerd 
Laser Jet Senes II 
NEC 

Silent Writer . . 
Other Models . . 

P-6 

P-7 

P-9 

OkkdsU 




Above Board PC 1010 . . 

PS1>C1110 

Above Board AT 4020 . . 
Above PSAT 4120 

Inboard 386 w cable 

Orchid 

Turtn E(3A 

Jet 386 Accelerator AT . . 
Tiny Tmbo 286 


0^ Models . . . 

NEC 

Muitispeed . . . . 
Muitispeed EL . . 

Toshlw 

T-1000 

T-1100Supertwisl 

T-3100 

T3120 


Autoswitch 350 
Auloswitch 480 

VGA Plus 

VGA Prolessional 


Plus Hard Card 20 Megabyte 
Plus Hard Card 40 Megab^ 
Quadrvi 

Quad EGA Plus 

Video-7 

Vega Deluxe 

VGA 

Keytronics KETBOAIlOf 

KB5151 

K05t53 

KB101 


CIRCLE 206 ON REAPER SERVICE CARD 


Canon PC-25 - *929 


To Place «i Older i-eCKM20e6S9 
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Order Une Hours Mon-Pn 7sm-epm 
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h 1 K S T I. (> (> K S 


A Suite of CalciAators: Dalin 
Wheels Easy to Use, Expensive 


HANDS ON 


BY BARRY SIMON 

If someone offered you a set of 
wheels, you'd probably have vi- 
sions of a souped-up sports car. 
but Dalin has intrcxluced a tricy- 
cle — three software packages 
called Daily Wheel, Scientific 
Wheel, and Professional Wheel. 
Each is a set of several individ- 
ual calculalional programs with 
only a command set in com- 
mon, but without the ability to 
exchange data. 

The Wheel programs support 
the basic scientific functions 
and also let you type in com- 
plete formulas to be evaluated 
and then changed with a full- 
screen editor. 

Daily Wheel comes with a 
pop-up resident program (tak- 
ing 150K and offering unit con- 
version and calculator m(xJulcs) 
and a more versatile standalone 
calculator. Scientific Wheel 
comes with a pop-up taking 
160K. similar to the one in Dai- 
ly Wheel, and a lovely stand- 
alone function analysis module. 
Professional Wheel consists of 
four standalone programs: en- 
hanced versions of the Daily 


Wheel pop-up modules, a 
“function calculator." and a 
statistical analysis package. 

My favorite module was the 
function analysis from Scientif- 
ic Wheel. You type in a function 
of one variable and its limits, 
and the module computes all the 
zeros, the maxima and minima, 
and all the inflection points. 
Plus, it graphs the function or 
even docs a numerical integra- 
tion or differentiation. 

Each program is slickly pre- 
sented, but severely limited. 


Often, the functions are restrict- 
ed to a single variable. The 
number of lines in any "work- 
sheet" is not large, and the cal- 
culator doesn’t have true vari- 
ables. The statistical analysis 
module is limited to 200 data 
points and cannot import from 
other programs. 

All the programs' features 
arc available in more-powerful 
versions elsewhere. For exam- 
ple. APL and Point Five give 
more-flexible full-screen for- 
mula editors, and Eureka, 



Scientide WheeP.^ h'uni iumal Analysis module returns ihe maxima and minima, in- 
flection points, and a liraph when you give it ihe/taulion of a variable and its limits. 


F A C T 
Bfera FILE 


Professional Wheel, 

Version I.O 

Scientific Wheel, Version 1.0 
Daily Wheel, N'erslon 1 .0 
Dalin Inc. 

P.O. Box 33308 
Granada Hills. CA 9 1 344 
(8181360-7058 
List Price: Daily or Sdeniific 
Wheel, S99.95 each; Profes- 
sional Wheel. %m. 95. 
Requires: 256K RAM for Dai- 
ly.'Seientific. 384K (or Profes- 
sional', CGA. EGA, or Hercules 
for graphics rntnlules; DOS 2.0 
or later. 

In Short: Each package is a col- 
lection of several well-done but 
limited culcululiunal programs. 
CIRCLE 439 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


MathCAD, and TK! Solver find 
roots of equations in many vari- 
ables. rather than just one. The 
one virtue of the Wheels is that 
they really are easy to use. 

The price of the combined 
Daily or Scieniific/Professional 
Wheels is essentially the same 
as the price of MathCAD. In 
terms of the price/performance 
ratio of other scientific pack- 
ages. I can only conclude that 
the Wheels are considerably 
overpriced. 


Ashton-Tate Free Space Puts H/hire in Less 


331 


HANDS ON 


BY EDWARD MENDELSON 


The classic study of hard disk 
organization is the stateroom 
scene in (he Marx Brothers' film 
A Night at the Opera. 

Before your disk gets as 
packed as Groucho’s first-class 
cabin, it's time to think about 
data compression. Ashton-Tate 
Corp.’s S69.95 Free Space 
(written by Stoneax Associates) 
squeezes data files to half their 
normal size and docs it automat- 
ically and transparently. It 
doesn't make you issue a com- 
mand to pack a file or unpack it 


later — but it's smart enough to 
compress only the data that you 
want to squeeze. 

Free Space creates a read- 
only DOS file up to 2MB. It 
tricks DOS into treating the file 
as a new disk with its own drive 
letter. When you write a file to 
this new "disk," the memory- 
resident part of the program 
compresses the file. \Vhcn you 
read the file, the program de- 
compresses it. You copy files to 
and from this new "disk," just 
as you can with any other disk. 
If you ask DOS for the "disk’s” 
directory , it reports the uncom- 
prcs.sed sizes of the squeezed 
files. 


An optional security system 
makes the compressed "disk" 
accc.ssible only if you type in a 
password at boot-up. And you 
can have multiple "disks” with 


separate passwords for each. 

Free Space is so elegant that 
Margaret Dumont might want to 
keep a copy on her jewel-en- 
crusted laptop. JS 


iH 


FACT FILE 


Free Space 
/\shlon-Tatc Corp. 

20101 Hamilton Ave. 
Torrance. CA 90502-1319 
1800)437-4329 
l.ist Price: S69.95 
Requires: 55K RAM. one disk 


drive (hard disk recommended). 
IX)S 2. 1 or later. 

In Short: A transparent file- 
compression utility. Not copy 
protected. 

CIRCLE 440 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
46 












ntrodudng Quicken* Version 2— 
absolutely the fastest, easiest way to 
write checks, keep financial records, 
track income and expenses, budget, 
and manage your cash flow. It’s ideal for 
business and personal use. 

Now, Finish Financial 
Chores in Seconds. 

Quicken completes your financial work 
5 to 8 times faster than ever before: 

■ Analyze budget vs. actual expenses by 
month for 12 months: 4 seconds 

■ Look up a check you wrote 1000 checks 
ago: 1 second 

■ Write and print 20 checks and update all 
records: 3 minutes 

■ Compile an itemized list of tax deduc- 
tions for the year: 3 seconds 

How can it be so fast? Quicken uses 
indexed files and speed optimized C and 
assembler code — the very latest in 
high-speed technology. 


So Automatic, It Eliminates Work. 
Quicken's fully automatic “macros" 
eliminate repetitious clerical work. Macros 



(Quicken rrmembers the hills you forget. 


remember your bills, print your checks, 
and update all records automatically. All 
you do is sign the checks. 


In fact, Quicken is so automatic it reminds 
you to pay your bills even if you forget to 
use it! Simply turn on your hard disk PC. 
and Quicken's pop-up Billminder'" 
appears when you need to pay bills. 

No Need to Alter 
Your Bookkeeping Procedures. 
Quicken is easy to use because it works 
just like your checkbook. There’s no need 
to change your bookkeeping format or 
learn anything new— no accounting 
jargon, no “debitsr no “credits!’ 

Quicken also comes with comprehensive 
on-line help, a complete manual, and free 
technical support. 


Here's what the critics say: 

“I’ve never seen such an easy-to-use 
manual or software that’s so simple to 
user Martin Blumenthal, inCider Magazine 

“Extremely simple and fastr 

Esther Dyson, Industry Analyst 

“Absolutely the best small accounting 
program mader Bob Sehwabarh. 

Uniivrsal Press Syndicate 


New Features for Business. 

Quicken provides special sections for 
businesses aivering payables, receiv- 
ables, cash flow forecasting, payroll, petty 
cash control and job, client, and property 
bookkeeping. 

If you’re a doctor, property manager, 
accountant, consultant, or manage any 
type of small business, and you write 
diecks. Quicken will save you time and 
money starting Uxlay. 


Free 30-Day Trial. 

Try Quicken. If you’re not 100% satisfied, 
return it within 30 days and pay nothing. 


SprcificatioQf 

Softwan? Cooipatibilily: Exports data and in ASCII. 

Also exports in l.^us* format with optional Iransfer Udlity. 
Hardware Conpatibility: All IBM* PC. AT.' PS/2* and 
compatibles with 256K RAM and DOS 2.0 or higher. All 
printers. All monitors. Also availablefor Apple* lie. lie 
and GS with most of the same features. 

Capacity-; Number of bank accounts: unbmited. 

Number of transactions: unlimited. Maximum amounts: 
$9,999,999.99. Number of income/expense categories: 
250 with 256K. thousands with 512K RAM. 

Other Not copy-protected. Checks are approved for all 
financial institutions in the U.S. and Canada. 



NOT COPY PROTECTED 
Try Quicken for 30 Days Free! If not 
completely satisfied, return Quicken within 
30 days for a full refund (including $3.00 
shipping and handling charge). 

l til ^42 

Or send coupon with payment to: Intuit. 
540 University Ave., I^o Alto, CA 94^1 

□ Check enclosed (No purchase orders) 

□ Visa □ MasterCard □ Amex 


Card No._ 

Name 

Address— 


_Exp.- 


City_ 

Zip- 


-State^ 


_ Phone- 


□ Quicken. $49.95 plus $3.00 shipping & 
handling. CA residents add sales tax. 

□ IBM version □ Apple II version 

□ S^^disk □3!4''disk 

□ Transfer to Lotus Utility (optional). $19.95 

Current Quicken owners— Call our 800 
number for upgrade information. 


Cvw.1 


Intuitl 


j 



I K S T LOOKS 


The tf .5^. on CD: WMows on the Wtrld 
Lets You Customize Ma/is, Build Your Own 



HANDS ON 


BY DONALD TRIVETTE 

A CD-ROM holds a staggering 
amount of data — so much, in 
fact, that very few applications 
use more than a quarter of the 
space that is available. Now 
GeoVision, of Norcross, Geor- 
gia. has actually come close to 
using the entire capacity of a 
CD-ROM with its new GEO- 
disc U.S. Atlas of the United 
States. It takes that much 
data — 530,000,000 bytes — to 
display any place in the main- 
land United States, Alaska, and 
Hawaii to a scale of 1 :62,500. 

GEOdisc is a database that 
runs under GeoVision’s Win- 
dows on the World software, 
which in turn uses the Microsoft 
Windows environment in order 
to manage the screen, mouse, 
and external devices such as 
printers and plotters. And be- 
cause GEOdisc is a CD-ROM 
product, you need a copy of the 
Microsoft CD-ROM exten- 
sions, as well as DOS 3.2 or lat- 
er. Installing these layers of 
software is harder than it 


sounds, and it took several at- 
tempts to get all the pieces 
working together amicably. But 
finally they did, and the installa- 
tion was worth the trouble. 

You select an area of the 
United States either by name 
from a gazetteer or by geo- 
graphic region. A region con- 
tains several states, and once 
you display a region on a small 


scale, you can use the zoom 
command to pick an area to en- 
large. To display a detailed map 
of southeastern North Carolina, 
for example, you would use the 
mouse to pull down the zoom 
menu and click one of the en- 
largement sizes that range from 
2x to 64x; then move the cursor 
over the area of the map you 
want enlarged, and click again. 
Within minutes a new map ap- 
pears. At the largest scale, the 
screen width repre.sents about 
40 miles. 

Windows on the World has 
various options to customize 
and manipulate the graphical 
data. An overlay menu controls 
which features appear on the 
map, including bodies of water, 
water courses, highways, rail- 
roads, federal districts like na- 
tional parks and military bases, 
and state and county bound- 
aries. Text names and symbols 
can be shown for airports, 
roads, and towns. 

A Create option allows you 
to draw and label your own fea- 
tures — such as pipelines, ease- 
ments, or property boundaries. 
Another feature lets you calcu- 
late the exact longitude and lati- 
tude of any point under the 
cross-hair cursor; at the same 
time, a surveyor tool calculates 
distances between points in 


feet, kilometers, or miles as the 
cursor is moved across the 
screen. It's a lot like using a 
CAD/CAM system with geo- 
graphical data. 

Slow Transfer Rate 

Although a CD-ROM holds 
a huge amount of data, it has a 
relatively slow transfer rate. It 
can take minutes for a detailed 
map to be drawn, so Windows 
on the World lets you save all 
the data for any particular re- 
gion on a hard disk. Depending 
on the region, this may consume 
as much as 1 or 2 megabytes of 
the hard disk, but it speeds up 
map creation dramatically. 

Windows on the World isn’t 
without flaws and bugs — it's 
slow, and parts of the interface 
with Windows 2.0 are incom- 
plete — but GeoVision is work- 
ing to fix them and to put even 
more detailed data on compact 
disc. One day soon, we’ll be 
able to display street maps and 
major buildings on our PCs. 
And then, in our cars. 


F A C T 
B&gj FILE 


Windows on the World 
GEOdisc U.S. Atlas 
GeoVision Inc. 

270 Scientific Dr. 

Norcross. GA 3(X)92 
(4(M) 448-8224 
List Price: $495 each 
Requires: MOK RAM. hard 
disk drive. 286-ba.sed comput- 
er. EGA or VGA. mouse. CD- 
ROM player and Microsoft CD- 
ROM extensions. Microsoft 
Windows (Version I .Oor 2.0). 
DOS 3.2 or later. 

In Short: A U.S. atlas on CD- 
ROM and accompanying st)ft- 
ware used to display, manipu- 
late, and customize maps. 
Useful for those who work with 
geographical data. Not copy 
protected. 

CIRCLE 456 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


Free Tips from World-Class Programmers 


Here’s a deal you won’t want to 
pass up if you’ve got even a 
passing interest in program- 
ming. Solution Systems is of- 
fering a free booklet, “World- 
Class Programmers' Editing 
Techniques.” 

It consists of short interiews 
with seven of the more-influen- 
tial programmers in the short 
history of personal computing, 
including Wayne Ratliff, 
dBASE's first father; Walt Pen- 
ney, a key designer of Dr. Halo-, 
and that legendary duo Bob 
Frankston and Dan Bricklin, 
who wrote VisiCalc together. 

There’s a crass commercial 
motivation behind this largess 
that’s easy to excuse: all of them 
use Brief, the programmer’s 
editor (see review of the latest 


version, page 43), which just 
happens to be published by the 
sponsor of this little booklet. 
But that's not all they talk 
about, and when they do talk 
about Brief, some of their com- 
ments are critical. 

Here’s Bricklin on building 
code into recyclable modules: 
“I try, but it rarely works out 
that way. You end up with a 
code that is very ‘barnacled’ 
(that’s a word that Bob Frank- 
ston uses a lot).’’ 

Not all of the interviewees 
are as colorful as Bricklin, but at 
15 pages, the booklet’s worth 
your time. 

You can write Solution Sys- 
tems at 541 Main St., #410, 
South Weymouth, MA 
02190.— Gus Venditto 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
48 








When you need to move quickly among programs and files, 
Software Carousel carries the load for you* 


Why get dragged down by that 
old PC technology? 

Despite the sophistication of today’s 
PCs, there's one thing they still don’t do. 
And that’s work the way people work. 
Jumping from one task to another -from 
budgets to memos to phone calls and back. 

So every time you need to change 
programs-or just look at another file- it's 
the same old, tiresome routine-saving, 
exiting, loading, retrieving. Not very con- 
venient. Not very human. Now you could 
wait for the “next generation’’ of computers. 
Or use Software Carousel, and get the speed 
and convenience you need today, with the 
software, and computer, you already own. 
Here’s how to make Software Carousel 
work for you. 

Software Carousel is the amazingly easy 
way to switch almost instantly from Word- 
Perfect to 1-2-3 to dBASE to DOS to what- 
ever else you want. Or go from one file to 
another in the same program. All without 
saving or retrieving -or wasting a precious 
moment of your time. Or your computer’s 
memory. 


It works by creating a number of indepen- 
dent software slots to load your programs 
into. You get up to ten of these softw-are 
slots, sti you can load up to ten programs. 

Need to crunch numbers? Hit a key and 
there’s your spreadsheet. Need your word 
prtKesst^r? Don’t K)ther saving your spread- 
sheet file. Just whip over to your diKument 
and do your work. Snap back tt) your spread- 
sheet and it's just like you left it. It's like all 
your pri>grams are “pt>p-ups,'’ just a hotkey 
away. 

Or load the same program into a few dif- 
ferent slots, each with a different file. Now 
go from one to another in an instant. 

Here’s the best part of all. 

You may have heard about st^me other 
“environment” programs that claim to do 
something similar to Strftware Carousel. 

But there are several important differences. 

First, they make you split your memory 
up among the programs you want to use. 
Software Carousel lets you use all available 
memory In each and every program. It even 
supfK)rts expanded and extended memory. 

Other environment programs work with 
only some software. Software Carousel 


works with everything. PeriixJ. It even 
rest)lves conflicts among memory resident 
programs. 

Other software creates a working envi- 
ronment that’s complex, unfamiliar, with 
cramped little windows and strange com- 
mands. Software Carousel takes minutes to 
set-up just the way you want it. All yi>ur soft- 
ware looks and acts exactly as it always did. 
It’s so downright useful, even IBM^ 
recommends it. 

Even as you read this page, there are tens 
of thousands of Software Carousel users zip- 
ping through their work without laborious 
and repetitive commands. And without the 
usual 640K limit impt^sed by DOS. In fact, 
even IBM recommends Strftware Carousel 
for use with their most popular mainftame- 
to-PC communications package. 

We think you’ll agree, that with this 
kind ofspeed, convenience, and next- 
generation performance, $79.95 is a small 
price to pay. 

L(X)k for Software Carousel at software 
dealers everywhere. Or order direct from 
&rftLogic Solutions by calling us toll-free. 

If, after thirty days, you’re not satisfied that 
Software Carousel is the right way to get that 
old PC technology off your back, we’ll gladly 
arrange for a refund of your purchase price. 

SqftLogk: 

SOLUTIONS 

One Perimeter Road 
Manchester, NH 03103 
(603)^27-9900 inNH 

CaU 800-272-9900 

IBM aatcgiumdttailnnafttuf 
IntemaiHiful E^inct»MachinesCoq>omK«^. 

CIRCLE 333 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


is no 

Thanks" 



More Network Guts 
Than Most Network Boards 


With advanced power and five times more 
speed, LANLink SX™ has emerged. 

Coming from award-winning, state-of-the- 
art technology, the new LANLink SX™ boldly stands 
up to the challenge posed by costly, hardware- 
dependent netvrarks. 

That takes guts for a software-driven net- 
work. But we’re confident. 

Because we’ve discovered a high-speed 
networking channel that’s already built into most 
PCs.. .the standard parallel port. 

The High-Performance Alternative to 
Network “Boardom.” Half a Megabit per second, 
with over 500 feet between connections. That’s the 
astonishing rate at which LANLink SX™ transfers 
data between PCs or PS/2s using ordinary 
parallel ports. 

But you’re not restricted to parallel ports. 
The very same sockets you’d use for modems... 
connect PCs at 115 Kbps. Plus, you get remote 
access support and multi-tasking performance 
under PC-MOS/386’“or PC-DOS. 


Superior Results at Inferior Costs. 

LANLink 5X™ lets network users share data, 1000s 
of DOS programs, files, and printers. For about the 
same cost as one network board, you can install a 
five-user LANLink network. Without special hard- 
ware... and in less than two hours. 

Get Network Guts Without Network 
Boards. LANLink 5X™ is immediately available 
and comes with a money-back guarantee. Its 
price of $595 includes a server and a satellite mod- 
ule plus the network operating system. 

Call The Software Link TODAY for complete 
details on the fastest software-driven network 
that’s ever been available. 

CALL: 800/451-LINK 

In Georgia: Intemational/OEM Sales: Reseilers/VARs: PAX: 

404/441-2560 404/263-1006 404/44S-5465 404/263^74 

3577 Partway Lane, Atlanta. GA 30092 Telex 4996147 SWUNK 
The Software Unk/Canada CALL: 800/307-0453 

l-AI\£tnlr^3 ri^ 

THE SOFTWARE UNK 

DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED 


LANLink. LANLirtk SX. & PC-MOS/386 are trademarks ol The Software Link, Inc. PS/2 & PC-OOS are trademarks ol IBM Corp Prices and technical specificatione subject to change. 

Copynghi ©1986 AH Rights Reserved 
CIRCLE 393 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



I K S 


1 <) O K S 


NKWON TIIEMARKKT 


by Michael W. Muchmore 


MatrixPlotter fmm Insight Development 
Turns Your Dot Matrix Printer into Plotter 


Insight Development Corp., 
which developed LaserPhtter 
to enable laser printers to plot 
HPGL output, has now done the 
same for 1 8- and 24-pin dot ma- 
trix printers. 

MatrixPlotter accepts vector 
graphics files and converts them 
into bit-mapped raster images 
that print out at the highest reso- 
lution of your printer. The pro- 
gram has drivers for the Toshiba 
300 series. Epson dot matrix 
printers, and their compatibles. 

The self-configuring pro- 
gram uses a pop-up menu user 


interface to set options — such as 
patterns or gray-scale to repre- 
sent the colors that a plotter 
would output — line width, and 
resolution. 

List Price; MatrixPloiicr. $99. 
Requires: 128KRAM, 1 8- or 24- 
pin dot matrix printcrtcall company 
for compatibility information). 
DOS2.0or later. Not copy 
protected. Insight Development 
Corp. . 1024 Country Club Dr. . 
#140. Moraga. CA 94556; (415) 
376-9451. 


OnCXE 444 ON READER SERVICE CARO 



Insixht Dcvrlopmeni's $99 MalrixPhNtcr enables you to produce plotter file output by 
using either a 24* ur IH-pin dot matru printer. 



mouse, including the Microstift 
Mouse standard, according to 
Logitech. 

Logitech includes two driv- 
ers. a pop-up menu creation 
utility, menuing for 26 applica- 
tions. a I-2’^ driver, and a text 
editor called Point. 

List Price: HiRKZ.$l49, 
Require.s: 256K RAM. DOS 2.0or 
later. Logitech Inc.. 6505 Kaiser 
Dr.. Fremont. CA 94555; (415) 
795-85(K). 


CIRCLE 448 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


Logitech ’s Mew HiREZ 
Mouse Has Resolution 
Of 320 Dots per Inch 


Logitech says it's the first firm 
to offer a mouse like HiREZ, 
with its sweeping resolution of 
320 dots per inch. 

The three-button varmint 
uses 62 percent of the desk 
space a standard 2(X)-dpi mouse 
would use for an equivalent cur- 
.sor move . 

It costs $ 149 and works with 
any software that requires a 


Logitech's $149 HiREZ Mouse permits faster cursor motion with its S20'dol'per-inch 
resolution, suiting it to use with high-resolution monitors. 


DartCard Furnishes 
Up To 704MB RAM, 
Mounts in a Drive Bay 

A memory expansion system 
that mounts in a half- or full- 
height disk drive bay has been 
announced by Newer Technol- 
ogy. of Wichita. Kansas. 

Memory' boards of 4-. I6-, 
or 64MB capacity are available. 
Up to five of these boards can be 
installed in a half-height rack, 
and up to 1 1 in a full-height, for 
a total of 7()4Mli. Four Dart- 
Card racks can be daisy-chained 
in an external chassis for a grand 
total of 2.H gigabytes. 

Different “personality mod- 
ules" allow the DartCard to be 
used with an AT-bus multifunc- 
tion interface. SCSI, and ESDI. 

The AT-bus interface and 


controller yields nonvolatile 
hard disk emulation and up to 
15MB of AT extended or KMB 
of LIM expanded memory. The 
SCSI nuxlule means DartCard 
works with Macintoshes el al.. 
and ESDI lets you use it with 
PS/2s. 

Power for the unit comes 
from the system, external AC. 
or a battery pack. 

List l*rice: DartCard. hall-height 
starter kit with 4MB RAM and 
controller card for XT or AT. 
$2,595; $50 extra for full-height 
rack; 4MB memory boards. $ I ..^95 
each; 16MB nwmory boards. 
$9,995; external chassis and 
ct)ntn>llcr. $695. Newer Technok)gy. 

1 1 1 7 S. Rtxrk Rd . #4. Wichita. KS 
67207;(3I6)68.5-49(M. 


CIRCLE 447 ON READER SERVICE CARO 



DartCard gives vouup to 7<F4MB RAM for esteruled. exparuled. orRAMdisk memorv. 



It can oicupy a disk drive hav or itsosvn chassis. 


■UMK Mac Connects PCs and 
Apple Macintoshes at S7,6DD bps 


Traveling Software, of 
Bothell, Washington, the maker 
of Lap‘Link, is offering a utility 
that transfers files between Ma- 
cintoshes and IBM Personal 
Computers, including PS/2 
models. Traveling Software 
claims its Lap-Link Mac Is the 
fastest IBM-to-Mac data trans- 
fer program available. 

The $139.95 Lap Link Mac 
transfers files at 57,600 bits per 
second over a cable that con- 
nects to standard serial ports. 
The software splits the screen 
into two windows, one side 
showing the files on (he Mac 
and the other on the PC. 

Traveling Software equips 


Lap-Link Mac with options for 
converting Microsoft Word^ 
MaeWrire, WordPerfect^ Excel, 
and PageMaker files into (he 
target machine's format. The 
manufacturerenclosesboth 3*^- 
and S'/4-inch disks fm* the PC. a 
3'/2-inch Mac disk, and a 6-fool 
connecting cable. 

List Price: Lap-Link Mac, 

SI39.95. Requires; 256K RAM on 
the PC or PS/2 and I28K RAM on 
the Macintosh, one disk drive. DOS 
2.0 or later. Not copy protected. 
Traveling Software Inc., N. Creek 
Pkwy. . Bothell. WA 98011; (206) 
483-8088. 

anCLE 443 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
51 






Servicing our PC buyers with 
low pricing and te^nical 
experience since 1979. 


FAX#: (602) 246-7805 
Order Une-1-800-421-3135 
Order Status and 
Technical Support 
602-246-2222 



- HARDWARE - 


FREE SOFTWARE! 

Purchase over $100 and receive one of these disks absoiuteiy FREE! Purchases 
over $250 get two free disks, over $400 get three, or get all four disks v^en your 
purchase is over $500! 1) MIXED BAG- A great assortment of utilities and games 
all packed on or>e disk. 2) PC-WRfTE-Try this famous feature pecked word 
processor. It's a winner! 3) FOffT-SET— Lets you set popular fonts like tx>ld. under* 
Kne. etc. on most late model printers from Citizen. Epson, NEC, OkkJat^ F^na- 
sonic, Star, Ibshiba, etc. Vbu can even use your printer like a typewriter! 4) ABC* 
UST-Great mailing list program! Sort on any fi^, do qualified searches, print 
reports and mailing labels, and more! 


Accessories 


Brooklyn Bridge 

$72 

CopyUPC Board 

75 

Curtis Ruby 

59 

Mach III Joystick 

36 

Masterpiece 

88 

Masterpiece Plus 

99 

Steadiwatt 

65 

150 Wbtt Power Supply 

69 


Boards 


AST Advantage Premium 

$285 

AST Sixpac F^emium 

CaN 

ASTSixpac 

145 

Hercules Color Card 

145 

Hercules in Color Card 

302 

Hercules Graphics Plus 

182 

J Ram 3 ATP 

Cal 

Intel Above PC 

225 

Intel Above 286 

319 

Orchid Tiny Turbo 

289 

Generic 10 XT/AT 

65 


Computers 


AZ386 


80386-16 Micro Processor. 

1 MB of Ram, leac 1.2 MB 
disk drive. 2^ watt power 
supply. 6 layer mother board. 

RT keyboard $2595 


AZ Turbo XT 

IBM Compatible Computer. 

135 watt power supply. 

1 brand name floppy disk, 

1 parallel port 1 serial port 
1 game port PC keybo^, 

640K Ram. 6 expansion slots. 
6068-2 processor $519 


Laptop Portables 
Computers 

NEC Multispeed $1499 

NEC Powerimate Portable 

20 MB $2999 


AST 286 
Premium 
Computer 

512K. expandable to 2 MB on the 
system board. RT enhanced style 
keyboard, parallel, serial and 
dock, 1.2 MB floppy disk drive. 

7 expansion slots, two 32 bit 
fastram slots, DOS 3.1 S Basic 
1 year warranty Call 


AZ10 


150 watt power supply, 
dual 360K drive. 10 MHZ 
mother board, 640K. 
keyboard $670 


EGA Boards 


ATI VIP 

Cal 

ATI EGA Vltonder 

$195 

NEC GBI 

Cal 

F^radise Auto 460 

155 

Paradise VGA+ 

Cal 

Quad EGA F^us 

165 

\^a Deluxe 

229 




EGA Monitors 

AZ Turbo AT I 

512K, 6 6 10 MHZ. keyboard, 

200 watt power supply, one 1 

1 2 teac drive, F^oenix Bios $975 1 


AMDEK722 $455 

Casper 410 

Mitsubishi Diamond Scan 486 

NEC Multisync Plus Cal 

Samsung 359 


Floppy Drives 


Teac5l6‘'360K 
Toshiba 

Other ^mous Brands 


129 

CaR 



Hard Cards 

1 

AZ20MB 

$425 1 

AZ30MB 

499 1 

AZ40MB . 

625 ■ 

Plus hfardcard 20 MB 

Cal 1 

Plus Hardcard 40 MB 

Cal I 


Hard Drives 

1 

Miniscribe 20 MB 

Cal 1 

Seagate 20 MB w/Cont 

$269 I 

Seagate 30 MB w/Cont 

299 I 

Seagate 30 MB AT 

ea 


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1 

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$99 I 

Keytronics 5151 

149 I 

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port (simitar to Hercules 


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Desktop Publisher Graphics 

$99 


Mice 

1 

Logitech 

CaR I 

Microsoft Bus w/Pamtbrush 

$92 I 

Microsoft Serial 

92 I 

Opbmouse w/Dr Halo 

89 1 

Optimouse w/DF^ 

iJ 


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AZ 300/1200 

$75 

Everex 300/1200 

69 

Everex 2400 int 

229 

Everex 2400 Ext. 

250 

Hayes 1200 

Cal 

Hayes 12006 

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Ha^2400 

Cal 

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335 

U.S. Ftobobcs 1200 

180 


Monitors 


AMDEK 410 Amber 

$145 

AMDEK 410 Green 

149 

AMDEK 410 White 

157 

Magnavox F1G6 

Cal 

PriricetonHXl2E . 

460 

Princeton Max 12 

136 

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75 

Samsung TTL Green w/tilt 

74 

^msung Color w/tilt 

249 


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CITIZEN 


MSP 10 

$249 

MSP15E 

315 

MSP 40 

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120D 

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180 D 

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Tribute 224 

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NEC 


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8850 

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125 

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456 

N624-15 

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ND10 

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321 SL 

510 

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351 Model 11 

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Car>on Laser 

Cal 

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Ram 


64K 150NS 

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256K 150NS 

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60267 Ontol) 

$185 

80287-8 Ontel) 

259 

8087*2 (Intel) 

159 

8087 (Intel) 

125 


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than cash price. (Please call in first) 


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We Cater to the Rrst Time Buyer THIS MONTH’S SPECIAL 

Call our fnendly technical service 

(602) 246~2222 Microsoft word 4.0 ^105 

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Cyma 

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94 

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112 

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117 


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Chuck Yeager Right Simitr. 

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Lattice C Compiler $220 

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total Havard Manager 2 Cal 


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1-800-421-3135 


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* We do not guarantee compatibility. 


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No Charge for MaatarCard or ViM 



CIRCLE 171 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


^ I K S I 


O () K S 


Numerikeys Brings Extra ilTeys to LsgAqis 


331 


HANDS ON 


BYNEILJ.RUBENKING 
Each laptop computer takes a 
different approach to jamming 
all the necessary keys into too 
little space. The one I'm typing 
this article on has four arrow 
keys set in a baseball-style dia- 
mond arrangement — you press 
an “Fn shift” key to turn the ar- 
row keys into PgUp. PgDn, 
Home, and End keys. Even 
worse, the numeric keypad 
overlays a section of the stan- 
dard typing keys and also re- 
quires use of the Fn key. If you 
haven't got enough frustration 
in your life, try working on a 
spreadsheet with this setup! 

Genest Technologies has 
solved this problem. Its $129 
Numerikeys is an external nu- 
meric and cursor keypad with a 
total of 33 keys. 

There's a complete numeric 
keypad and a set of arrow keys 
in the inverted-T arrangement. 
There are <Shift>. <Enter>, 


<E.sc>. <Alt>, <Home>. 
<End>, <Ins>, <Del>. 
<PgUp>. <PgDn>. <CtrI>. 
<Tab>. and an assortment of 
punctuation keys. You access 
the function keys (which share 
space with the number keys) by 
pressing <Shift> and the corre- 
sponding number key. 

Numerikeys doesn't have 
the click of the IBM keyboard, 
but it has a firm touch. Users 
who prefer audible feedback 
can set a .software click at three 
volume levels. 

Numerikeys Is equipped 


with its own keybt)ard macro 
program, NUMPATCH. Using 
the NUMPATCH configuration 
program . you can assign a string 
of up to 15 characters to each 
key or valid key combination. 

You connect Numerikeys to 
your system's parallel printer 
pt)rt. If you're using a printer, 
just unplug it. plug in the Nu- 
merikeys connector, and plug 
the printer into the connector. A 
tiny (5K) RAM-resident pro- 
gram tracks the keypad input 
and feeds the keys into the com- 
puter’s regular keyboard buffer. 



Genes! Tet hnolfi)(ies‘ Numerikeys is an e.xiermil. J.i-key numerif and cursor keypad 
dull is designed for laptop computers with crowded keyboards. 


The 4 ‘/ 2 . by 9- by 'A-inch 
unit comes with a black leather- 
ette ca.se that matches the spiffy 
laptop image and fits in the 
pocket of my laptop bag. 

If your laptop’s keyboard is 
driving you mad. or if you want 
a separate numeric keypad for 
your 83-key PC. Numerikeys 
will do the job. 


FACT 

FILE 


Numerikeys 

(icncst Technologies Inc. 

I3.H K. Edingcr Avc. 

Santa Ana. CA 92705 
(K(K))«26-9f>41 
UsI Price: $129 
Requires: K'-compaliblc com- 
puter with parallel pi>rt. 

In .Short: An external 33-key 
numeric keyboard for laptop or 
desktop PCs. 

CinCLE 432 ON READER SERVlCe CARO 


How to Play tlw Gme: ForMaiuigers Only 

Ml 


HANDS ON 


BY WILLIAM A. TAYLOR 

When many companies install 
PCs on a large scale, they ap- 
point a manager of end-user 
computing (EUC) to support the 
new systems. N. Dean Meyer, a 
consultant to corporations mak- 
ing such a change, claims that 
most EUC efforts fail for politi- 
cal reasons, because most EUC 
managers know more about 
technology than the politics of 
technical innovation. 

Meyer has crystallized his 
approach into Game Plan, a de- 
cision support program that puts 
you into a gamelike challenge. 
As the EUC manager of a firm, 
you take actions month by 
month, are confronted with po- 
litical reactions to your moves, 
and are assigned credibility 
chips for each month. As you 
gain chips, you gain power and 


can introduce EUC more effec- 
tively. As you lose chips, you 
become ineffective and ulti- 
mately lose your job. 

First, you describe your cor- 
porate culture as futurist, con- 
sensus. profit centered, or tradi- 
tional. Knowing your culture 
helps Game Plan award you the 
right number of points per 
move. A futurist culture values 
risk, so you will not get many 
points for introducing a stan- 
dard application even if it saves 
a lot of money, while reducing 
costs gets more points in a tradi- 
tionalist firm. 

Game Plan then asks if you 
would like to take any actions at 
the beginning of each month. 
You can initiate projects, write 
policy statements, ask for more 
staff, install a network, form 
steering committees, or do other 
things that gain or lose you cred- 
ibility points. Starling any ac- 
tion costs points because you 


have to get approval . Any pay- 
off comes later when the action 
is completed. 

At the end of each month. 
Game Plan notes any activities 
that ended and awards you 
points accordingly. The goal is 
to earn 50 credibility points and 
get appointed vice president. 

Game Plan Is easy to use. 
but it is limited. When you try to 
resume an old game, you get no 
list of existing files and have to 
quit the program to look at a di- 
rectory. There is on-line docu- 
mentation but not enough — you 
have to read the manual pretty 
thoroughly to make sense of the 
program. 

It is hard to play “what if’ 
games, which ought to be the 
point of Game Plan. You can 
save a partial game in a file and 
replay it from that point to try 
different strategies, but you'll 
have to keep track of the results 
in your head or print out the dif- 


ferent games for a comparison. 

Still, the program offers 
keen insights that can help you 
avoid political mistakes. OS 


^ F A C T 
FILE 


Game Plan, Version 2.0 
N. Dean Meyer 
und Associates Inc. 

233 Mountain Rd. 

Ridgefield. CT 06877 
(203)431-0029 
I Jst Price: $495 
Requires: 5I2K RAM. one 
disk drive. DOS 2.0 or later. 

In Short: An expert system that 
simulates the political reactions 
to your efforts to introduce new 
office automation. Not copy 
protected. 

CIRCLE 431 cm READER SERVICE CARO 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9.1988 
54 





Paradox: The perfect relational 
database manager for both novices 
and advanced users 


Paradox’^ is so tech- 
nically advanced that 
it’s easy to use. 

Y ou don't have to be a 
genius to use the new 
Paradox 2.0. Even if you're 
a beginner. Paradox is the 
only relational database 
manager that you can take 
out of the box and begin 
using right away. 

That's because Paradox 
incorporates advanced 
artificial intelligence 
technology. 

Paradox encourages 
you to do things your 
own way 

With Paradox you'll soon 
be creating professional 
customized applications. 

Most important of all. as 
your information manage- 
ment skills grow, and you 
want more creative te- 
dom. Paradox stays out of 
your way. 

What all this means to 
you is that you can concen- 
trate on running your busi- 
ness and stay well ahead 
of the competition while 
Paradox takes care of the 
details. 


mth Paradox, net- 
works really work 
Paradox 2.0 also handles 
multiple users on a network, 
making powerful multiuser 
applications a reality. 

This in itself is quite an 
achievement. 


U Paradox is. indeed 
a unique blend of a 
user-friendly relational 
database with a highly 
sophisticated and pow- 
erful programming 
environment. 

Rusel DeMaria, PC Wsek JJ 


tt find Paradox 
preferable to every data- 
base system we’ve 
encountered so far, 
including dBASE 111 
PLUS, for both every- 
day use and application 
development. 

Jay Alperson & Steve King 
Data Based Advisor J9 


For a brochure or 
more information, please 

call (800) 543-7543 


Paradox is remarkably easy to use. 
It’s remarkably sophisticated. 
That’s not a contradiction. 
That’s innovation. 


PARADOX 


by Ansa 


A Borland Company 



PaiaOoB « • r«oaierad vadwnarh of Ansa SdKMre Atm a a Bonwxl miemawjnat Cornpany OVwr brand and produO namai ar« tag«iarad trademartit or iradamarva of Vwr 
raapaclwe hokMra CopyngM • 1967 Borland infw n ati onal *■ tha produO doaa nol partorm n accordance wifh our cfana. pfaaaa call otf cuaKxnar aarvice daparenam. and ««e 
will arrange a tun refund BiliBCM 



ORCLE 137 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



I I K S T I. (> (> k S 


QUICK LOOKS 

I ^ ^ 



IH*-16CEmiriator: HAm’t Pretty but... 


HANDS ON 


BY JONATHAN MATZKIN 

As any programmer will (ell 
you. there is usually a (rade-off 
between power and ease of use. 
XACT-I6C, from CalcTech, 
presents just such a dilemma. 

It's an emulation of the HP* 
i6C calculator for which it is 
named and has many of the 
built-in functions and features 
that programmers demand. But 
its user interface is a bit clut- 
tered. and the sheer variety of 
features makes it an unlikely 
choice for someone who Just 
wants some FX)p-up help with 
balancing a checkbook. The 
right and left shift keys distin- 
guish among functions. 

The calculator can be run ei- 
ther as a standalone program or 
as a memory-resident pop-up. 


Its interface is an on-.screen dia- 
gram that imitates the layout of 
the actual HP 16C. with calcula- 
tor functions mapped to the 


white keys on the PC keyboard. 
Each key has three functions. 
The Right and Left Shift keys 
distinguish among functions. 


Supported functions include 
logical operators, adjustable 
word size, and base conver- 
sions, as well as many of the 
usual mathematical features. 
With all that crammed into the 
display, it takes some time to 
figure out where everything is. 

XACT-/6C can be pro- 
grammed to execute .strings of 
calculator keystrokes, and a 
simulated paper tape can be 
popped up and printed. In addi- 
tion there is a pop-up ASCII ta- 
ble. Results can be pasted from 
(he calculator's display window 
to foreground applications. 

It may not be pretty to took 
at. but it has power to bum. 

List Price: XACT t6C. $49.95. 
Requires: I28K RAM, one disk 
drive. DOS 2.0or later. Not copy 
protected. CalcTech. 1.1629 
Bcllevue-Rcdmond Rd.. #2(12. 
Bellevue. WA 9H(K)5; (206) 643- 
I6H2. 


CIRCLE 433 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


rini.INC t)lKF'’T05lf 1 HmiarTianiig cofw'nA = ATDT 

Long JiatAnco aaratc* «l ^ 24 


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You may tn- tihlf lo hoUtyour HP- 16C l utcuUilor in your IhiiiJ. hutaiuthr HP-i6C 
calfu/alor pop up tn-rr K-Tuli. like XACT-lbC Joes? 


FileScan: Bureau of Lost Hlenames 


HANDS ON 


BY EDWARD MENDELSON 

A hard disk is like a haystack 
with a capacity of 20 or 30 me- 
ganeedlcs. Panther Associates* 
$49.95 FileScan makes it easier 
to find the needle you need 
without getting bloodied in the 
process. 

Packed with Options 

FileScan is a fast, full-disk 
file searcher with more options 
than most similar applications. 
When you become familiar with 
(he menu options, you can run it 
from (he command line. You 
can search through an entire 
stack of floppy disks by telling 
FileScan to search first in drive 
A:, then in B;. then drive A: 
again. If you can’t remember 
whether you need 1988TAX- 
.DOCorTAXDOC.88 or TAX- 
88. DOC. you can .search for all 
filenames containing “88." 
You can choose to print or erase 


any files containing a search 
string or learn the disk space 
needed when copying those 
files. 

Microlytics* COfer com- 
bines data searches with memo- 


HANDS ON 


BY EDWARD MENDELSON 

MouseMenus for WordPerfect 
puts virtually every one of 
WordPerfect's functions within 
easy reach of your mouse’s 
whiskers. Unlike the Mouse- 
Perfect mouse driver (reviewed 
in First Looks, page 56. PC 
Magazine , September 29, 
1987). MouseMenus' $49 pro- 
gram almost never drops you 
from a mouse menu into a 
WordPerfect menu but instead 
lets you choose functions from 
one of its own mouse sub- 


ry-rcsident cut-and-pasto func- 
tions and searches at a 
marginally friskier pace. But if 
you prefer to work right from 
the command line, FileScan has 
all the features that you will 


menus. You never even have to 
bother hitting WordPerfect's 
cancel or enter keys — ^just touch 
a mouse button. 

Naturally you also get 
mouse-controlled scrolling, 
plus easy manipulation of 
blocks. Some of WordPerfect's 
existing menus require unintui- 
tive. athletic jumps around the 
keyboard, so a mouse menu can 
save time and effort even for ex- 
pert typists who hate to take 
their hands off the keyboard. 
The only loose hairs on this pro- 
gram appear in the overstuffed 
main menu, which includes 36 
separate functions. 


need and many more. 

List Price: FileScan. $49.95. 
Requires: 90K RAM. two disk 
drives, DOS2.()orlalcr. Not copy 
protected. Panther AsstKiates. Rte. 
I. 1UI4 Cimarron Circle. Roanoke. 
TX 76262;(8l7)379-5266. 


CIRCLE 434 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


No mou.se program can give 
WordPerfect the kind of symbi- 
osis between mouse and word 
processor that Microsoft Word 
enjoys. But MouseMenus for 
WordPerfect comes closer than 
any other to getting all the 
chee.se out of the trap. 

List Price: MouseMenus for 
WordPerfect. $49. Requires: 
Microsoft- or Logitech-compatible 
mouse; WordPerfect. Version 4. 1 
or 4.2. Not copy prolecicd. 
MouscMenusInc.. P.O. Box 1020. 
Brookline, MA 02146; (800)641- 
3322. ext. I020;(6I7)9644)067. 

CIRCLE 435 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


¥/mlPerfect on a Leash, Part 2 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
56 








Eureka: 


Instant Answers! 


Now solving scientific and engineering 
equations goes from agonizing to easy! 


Eureka": The Solver and 
your PC can handle any 
problem you can hand 
them — instantly. Just 
type in any linear or 
non-linear equation, 
select "Solve," and look 
at your answer. But 
that’s not all. because 
Eureka can do a lot 
more. Like evaluate 
your solution and plot 
a graph. Or generate a 
complete report, sending 
the output to your 
screen, disk tile or 
printer. 

You can check the 
equation itself or ask 
Eureka to continue 
searching iteratively for 
a satisfactory solution. 
Or. change the active 
variables or constants 
and search for an 
entirely different solu- 
tion. Using Eureka's 
windows, you can solve 
up to 20 equations at 
once. It’s all done with 
pull-down menus, full 
help screens and abso- 
lutely no agony. And all 
for just $167. 


Sy aam RaQUi**nwM Por iBM PS/2' and Vw 
ISM* and Compaq* lamikes o* personal computers 
and an 1 00% companues POOOS |M5-DO^ 20 
andlalar 38«K. 



Seport Graph Options Window 


Isobaric Work 


Line 1 

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'78.894688 Joules 


isoThri.'.irI 


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Blk re-End BUt Sa»Ll-Site/na-- 


Eureka SnstanUy solved Uiis Physics equation by immediately calculating how much 
work Is requM to compress Isobarically 2 grams of oxygen initially at STP to V> its 
original volume. In Science. En&neering. Finance and any application involving equa- 
tions, Eureka gives you the right answer, right now! 


Easy as a Calculator . . . 
Powerful as a Mainframe! 


■ Pull-down menus 

a Full-screen text editor 

■ Context sensitive heip 
a On-screen calculator 

■ Automatic 8087 math 
coprocessor support 

a Inequaiity constraints 


■ Powerful built-in and 
user-defined math and 
financiai functions 
a Report generation com- 
plete with plots and lists 
a Poiynomial root finder 


Merely difficult problems Eureka solved virtually 
instantaneously; the almost impossible took a few seconds. 

Stephen Randy Davis, PC Magazine 99 



BORUIND 




For the dealer nearest you 
or to order call 

( 800 ) 543-7543 

60-Day Money-back Guarantee* 


•CuUBffur mtiL'l a' i« But ffwo coneien 4 w«w 60 dni o< Pi/cnm Bv* produU dow no) paUorm n KeoriariM < 
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Capt«9« •< 967 Borana inMmMoow. Me 


CIRCLE 377 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


“Simple To Use, 
Wbrks Wfell And Best Of All 



Is Easy On The Budget” 


— PC Magazine 


MAGAZINE 


EDITOR’S 

CHOICE 


^395 

JT Fax By Quadram 


Send facsimiles with your 
PC/XT / AT or compatible and one 
of Quadtam’s JT Fax products. 

Helpful menus and loads of 
versatile features make JT Fax 
easy to use— like autO'Conversion 
of word processing files to ASCII. 
And you can add your letterhead 
and signature to documents 
automatically with any JT Fax 
product. 

Fax To Go 

If you’re on the go, 
consider the JT Fax 
Portable. It slips 
into your pocket 
and plugs into 
any MS DOS 
portable’s serial port to let you fax 
from wherever you are. 

Common Interface 

The JT Fax half card internal 
shares a common software 



interface with the JT Fax 
Portable and even the lightning 
fast JT Fax 9600, the lowest- 
priced 9600'baud adapter. With 
the LAN operating software, the 
JT Fax 9600 is perfect for shared 
use on a network. 

So you can support dozens of 
word processing, spreadsheet, 
and graphics packages while 
sharing the same interface with 
others in your organization. 

Unique Technical 
Approach 

JT Fax was nominated for PC 
Magazine’s Technical Excellence 
Award. And in selecting JT Fax 
Editor’s Choice, PC Magazine 
said “An innovative approach is 


QUADRAM 

Anlnle*ge*» Syslv'nsror'ip.it*, 



the key to the success of JT Fax: 
it converts documents on the fly 
while transmitting them at half 
the speed of the other units. This 
approach keeps its cost down and 
saves file storage space, without 
degrading image quality and 
without delaying typical 
transmission times appreciably!’ 



NOMINATED 1987 


Call us at (404) 564-5666 for 
dealer information. Take a look 
at the JT Fax that meets your 
needs and see why JT Fax has 
been receiving such high praise. 
Quadram: One Quad Way, 
Norcross, Georgia 30093 

Ttademarkt/owner: Quadism, Quadiam loga JT ^x/Quadram 


CIRCLE 189 ON READER SERVICE CARD 








^ 1 K S 1 1. O l> K S 



1 PC UPDATE 1 

edited by Peggy Gavan 

1 


Saba 

Haadscaa, 
Version 3.0 


Saba Technologies has released Version 3.0 of 
the software for its Handscan data entry de- 
vice. The new version offers several enhance- 
ments. including IBM and Data Products line 
printer support, expanded character substitu- 



U paraded software for the Saha Handxi an adds IBM and 
Data Products line printer support . 


tion options, new diagnostics software, and 
support for the new IBM keyboard. Current 
owners of the Handscan can upgrade at no 
charge. Saba Technologies. Beaverton. Ore, 
(503) 626-7050. 


Harvanl 

Graphics^ 

¥ersm2.1 


Harvard Graphics. Version 2. 1 . adds many 
new features, including a 77.000-word on-line 
dictionary, more than 2(X) additional symbols, 
and the ability to convert chart elements to sym- 
bols for independent object editing. Harvard 
Graphics, priced at $495. is available to regis- 
tered users for $50. Registered users of Har- 
vard Presentation Graphics can upgrade for 
$150. Software Publishing Corp.. Mountain 
View.Calif.;(4l5)962-891(). 


Kermit, The Kermit error-checking protocol now runs 

Version 2.3 on the entire line of IBM PCs. including the 

PS/2 .series, and on several non-IBM-compatl- 
ble machines such as the DEC Rainbtw and 
Hewlett-Packard 150. Support for operation 
over NETBIOS-based local area networks, a 
script language for automated dialogues with 
other computers, and compatibility with inter- 
national character sets also accompany Version 
2,3. For ordering information, contact Kermit 
Distribution at (212) 280-3703. 


Primasisioa, Primavision. Version 3.0, features on-screen 
VafSion 3.0 plots, a pure logic plot, mouse support, and full 

support of dot matrix and laser printers. In ad- 
dition. the new version provides complete con- 
trol of pen colors, bar fill . and letter and bar 
size. Upgrades to Primavision, priced at 
$1 ,500, are free to registered users. Primavera. 
Bala Cynwyd. Pa. : (2 1 5) 667-8600. 


ACT!, 
Version 1.1 


ACT!. Version I . I , adds auto-dial capability 
and a faster, enhanced search function In its 
name, address, and contact information data- 
base. The new version can also maintain multi- 
ple databases and generate preaddressed 
memos and correspondence with automatic let- 
ter-headings. Upgrades \oACT!. priced at 
$395, are available to registered users for 
$49.95 or are free to users who purchased the 
product after August 1. 1987. Conductor Soft- 
ware. Irving. Tex.; (214)929-4749. 


Microsoft Microsoft Corp. ’s Excei spreadsheet now sup- 
Bxcei pt^rts kx’al area networks, including IBM's PC 

Network and Token-Ring Network. Novell's 
NetWare, and 3Com Corp. 's 3 Plus and Ether 
Series. The network version — which includes 
the .standalone version of E.xcel to run on the 
server and E.xcel User Packs for each network 
user — provides file-locking capabilities at the 
cell, password protection, and read-only files. 
Excel is priced at $495, and the user packs cost 
$250 each. Microsoft Corp.. Redmond, 
Wa.sh.: (206) 8X2-8080. 


TARGA 16 Truevision has enhanced the TARGA 16 vi- 

deographics adapter board and stashed its price 
by $I .(K)0. The TARGA 16, now priced at 
$1 ,995. provides simultaneous analog RGB 



I'rueviuiui's lAKUA 16 

offers improved video 4>utpiii tfualify 

and a reduced price tag ofSI . W5 . 


and composite video outputs, reduced power 
consumption, and improved video output qual- 
ity. Truevision. Indlanaptdis. Ind.: (800) 858- 
8783. 


Iff BRIEF Software Bridge. Version 3.0, .supports 16 

word processing formats in addition to support- 
ing fonts between word processors, side-by- 
side and serpentine columns, and footnotes. 
Version 3.0, priced at $149, is available to reg- 
istered users for $49.95. Systems Compatibil- 
ity Corp.. Chicago. 111.; (312) 329-0700 . . . 
The entire X-Y-Z line of spreadsheet enhance- 
ment products is now fully compatible with 
Borland's Quattro. Registered users can up- 
grade to the current versions for $25. Iniex So- 
lutions, Wellesley. Mass.; (617)431-1063. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9, 1988 
59 





Imagine 20MB (^Seagate Hard Disk Kits For ^59... 


—Corporate, Government & Education Purchase Orders Welcome — 
—Quantity Discounts Available — Dealer Inquiries Welcome — 


XT DRIVE KITS 


$«aiatt ii-snis 
■iiiscrTM lli-StiS 
liailcrtN ■N-M25+ 
SMfltt IKSnSI 

SMfRtR ■H'SmS 

■MifatN n-wt 
■iWKriM ll-SiSI 
■Mscrifev ■K S45S+ 
■tMicriM ■I-54SS+ 

MflM 

■ilhcrtto IKUO 
SMMtt iR-snsi 
■iitsoTM IR^S 
SMiatl IR-MM 

•XT kits include drive 


20MB, 65me 
20MB 85ms, 
20MB 53m& 
30MB 95ma. 
30MB 65/n& 
30MB 85ms 
30MB asms 
30MB 53ms 
30MB S3ms 
30MB 40ms 
40MB 68ms 
40MB 40ms 
70MB 28ms 
80MB 2ams 


Vi ht, 5.25- 
W ht. 5.25: 
'h ht. S.25: 
a ht, 5.25: 
vs hU 5.25: 
i» ht, 5.25*, 
% ht, 5.25: 
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W ht, 5.25: 
fullht, 525' 
54 ftt. 525", 
» ht. 525*. 
full ht. 5.25' 
full ht. 525' 


w/WD controller. . 
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w/WD controller. 
w/WD controller. . 
w/WD controller. . 
w/WD controller. 
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UT Mie 
$«S« $217 
$211 
tSM $257 
taM $257 
tCM $257 
taao $243 
$mm $243 
$SM $296 
$SSS $296 
iMS $495 
$SM $352 
MM $393 
•MS $792 
•MS $691 


controller, bezel 20/34 pin cable mounting hardware and manuat 


HARD DRIVE CARDS 


■MscrS* HMIIMSn'20 20MB Drive card for XT •••• 

■SltcriM HlhliMSXT’SO 30MB Drive card tor XT •••• 

■SMKrttt MhSIHBOSAT'M 30MB Drive card tor AT •SSS 

■wtscrSi Rfr-IW-SOinOF 30MB 40ma card tor AT 4SM 

■MItail HO'IOU'DCOSO 50MB Drive card tor AT •••• 


AT DRIVE KITS 

SMUtt ■l-STWMAT 30MB 40ms full ht. S.2S" 

■NiiSCrtN li-SISOAT 40M8. 68ms V4 fit, 5.25" 

HIT RUE 

$495 
issy $352 

Sniat* ll-SnSUT 40MB40msAhUS.2S- | 

SMWtt ll-smil AT 40MB 40ms A ht. 525" E 

ISM $393 
i*M $441 

SMUtt ll'SnSM AT 40MB 28ms W ht. 5.25- 

■iNlSCTiN IKOSSAT 40MB 28ms fuff fit, 5.25" 

SMUtt IMOSSAT 40A<B. 28ms lull ht, 5.25" 

ISM $553 
ISM $594 

SMUtt ■I-STS277RAT 65Wa40ms Wht.5.25" 

iWscriN IR-CONAT 70Ma 28ms toff fit, 525" 

CK «-C0C-ai$5M 70MB 26ms lull ht. 5.25 " i 

IMS $691 
iTttT $792 
TM $783 

SMMtt ■R'STAONAT 80Ma 28ms lull ht. 5.25" 

■Ul^N ■R*l12f AT 1 10MB 28ms lull ht. 525". i 

'ATktia include d/ivs 20 pm cable, mounting rails software where eppiKebie 

ant For higher capacity drlva needs up to taOMft DMP alao atocic* lha (oHowina lln 
Novall and oihartraditional applications MAXTOR... NEWBURY DATA. PRIAM. ..MO 
TUM . . . VERTEX . . Call forprieea TODAY! 

iM« $891 

IMS $987 

and manual 

a (or SCSI. ESDI 
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NO HASSLM 

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You must be completely satisfied with 


every product youpurchase from OMP. It 
must be as we adv 


Ivertised it to be and 
what you expected. If any product is 


authorization « i 
Invoice date for a credit refu 
replacement! 


HARD DISK CDNTRDILERS 


•MtfeMfttal NC-aiS-iOtt-mti ST50$,MFMcompforXT..$ m 
V tMtn Mfftai NC-nS-M^ra S750A MFMcomA forXT..$ 
■attvn mitai NC'RCVCEII S7505. MFMcomA forXT.. • SO 

■ettsft Mfital HC'■fS'10e^27l 2.7 ALt encoded for xr...$ 
KiiTif HC-AK-2072 2.7 Att encoded tor XT. $ yo 

■irtSfl WStH HC-VES*100I*RAN 2.7 ALL encoded torXT .. •f^a 
•eftSfSMfttM N(-VES^DQS-IA2 2.7 Att encoded hdr/d for A T$iBa 
■vfttra Mfital HC-ViS^WS'lAM Standard hdcont torAT. . .ff ts 
Mittni Mfital NC’VIH0I3*IA2 hart^f/oppy cont tor AT. . . $1 as 


MONITORS 


ECA 


tuitisvaca 
Uitriscaa 
■iltisTK Pies 


13" EQA/COA comp, 640x350 res •>•• 

u: EQA/CQA/MDA/HERC/ comp.. 800x675 res •••• 

fS", eQA7C6/V'M0A/H5AC compL. 800x500 res $oio 

is: EGA/ENH’EQA/PGC/MCQA/VGA 960x720 res ... . •— T 


■lltlSTK U 20*. EQA/ENH^EQA/PGC/MCGA/VGA 1024x768 res . •••• 


PitttS 

PiHts 


FLOPPY DRIVES 


PMMtMk 

PlMIMk 

Mitn 

Feiltsa 

Tmc 


FD-FUJ-2SS1JIM d60K 'A ht, 525". black tor XT 

FO-FIIH551A2S 380X W ht. 525". prey tor AT 

F8-TliHSIV 360K W ht, 5.25" black for XT 

FQ-TU-SSi-AT 360K 54 ht. 525". grey tor AT 

FtPP»-JW75AT 1.2M. Vt ht, 525". prey for AT 

FD-PMI-JIM5S'2 360ft W ht. 5.25" black tor XT 

F^PMI-JM5SAT 360fC ’A ht. 525". grey for AT 

F0-Filh25S2R19 720K Slimline 550", black tor AT 

FD-FUh25S5ISS 1.2M. W ht. 5.25". prey tor AT 

FO“TIA-55FC«T 1.2M. 'A ht. 525". grey tor AT 



MATH CO-PROCESSORS 


iMtti 

CH-lin-8087-3 

5 Mhz for XT. 

aii« 

iRttI 

ClflNT-8M7-2 

8 Mhz for XT. 



MTttl 

CM-INT'8M7'1 

10 Mhz torXT 

— 

Mrtti 

CH-IRT-M2I7-5 

6 Mhz tor AT-286 

ei»* 

Itttl 

CH'IIIT-8Q2I7-| 

a Mhz torAT-2SS 

$«»» 

mti 

CH-IRT-I02I7*10 

10 Mhz tor AT-286 

eaaa 

Mttl 

CH-IRT-80M7MS 

16 Mhz lorAT-388 

aaea 

Itttl 

CH-IIIT-IOSR7-20 

20 Mhz for AT-386 





UNITERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLIES 


TMPPUn 

Tftppun 

Tnpptm 


P^TI^K200 

PMVC'SBSOn 

P^APC'SI•50AT 

pp-Tip-iazs 

PPTtMCASO 

PPAPCSINOIT 

PPTIM(t7S 

PPTIMC7S0 

PP-TRMC1000 


200 watt battery bacfc- up.. 
200 wan batleryback-up.. 
300 wan battery back-up. . 
325 watt battery back-up . 
450 watt battery back-up. . 
600 wall battery back- up . . 
675 watt battery back-up. . 
750 watt battery back-up . . 
1000 watt battery bacA-up. . 


PP-AK’St1200VI 1000 watt battery back-up.. 


P^TK^•Q0N 




TMRV^Mn 

TMtM-12SA1 

TMeM-tUD 

TMRM-1UAT 

T^Me•■S7Se«1 

TP-iev-sTseei 

TMtrsTieei 

TMet-sTTeei 

TMaoiar-AT 

T^AK•2SI7I0S 

T^AtC-l■T■^ 


TAPE BACK-UP KITS 

20Mfi| InL. rtt, w/rape for XT. 

20Ma inL, »» /iL. w/tape tor AT. 

40Ma ini. » /II. iwrape tor XT 

40Ma ini. vs ht, w/tape lor AT 

40Ma ini. Yt hi, w/lape lor XT/AT . . 

40Ma int. W hi, w/lape for PS2AT 

4PMa ext, H ni. w/lape for XT/AT 

40Wa ext. vv ht, w/iape lor PS2AT 

S0«a int. » ni. iWfape lor XT/AT 

SOWa exl. W ni. w/lepe lor AT 

SOMa ml. V* /It. w/lape lor XT. 


VIDEO BOARDS 


CaSM tV-CEM4l50-1 
MC BV-NEC-Cei 

6aBM n-CEIHISO-S 
CHU IV-GEIHISO-S 

viaea Sma iv-vio-VECA-Di 
vt«H um n-viMECA-vc 
Pbttaaseis rippcc> 1000 + 
PletaeStH •V'PCS-102A+ 
Caaei IIPCEIH8S8-7 


•ers 


I «!• 


EGA board 

EQA/CQA/UOA/HE/iC comp, 640x480 res. ... 
EQA/CQA/MDA/HEPC comp, 800x600 res 

EGA/CGA/MDA/HERC comp, 640x490 res 

VQA/EQA/CQA/MOA/HERC comp. 640x480 res 
VQA/EQA/CQA/MDA/HERC Comp 800x600 res 

1024x788 res, tor NECXl/Plut 

T024X768 res, analog fro NECXL •« ei 

VGA/EQA/COA/MDA/HERC comp, 800x600 res . . •SM 


DMP'S "EXTEND- A- YEAR" 

Supplemental Warranty Assurance Program 

12 IIOIITHS/12,000 HOURS (whichever comes first) 

Now. there’s an easy, inexpensive way to adci adctitional 
warranty coverage to any product purchased from DMP • 
it’s DMPs exciting SWAP Program. 

For a relatively small cost, DMP will warrant your product 
to be free of defects in material or manufacture for an 
additional year . . . parts and labor included. No deduc- 
tibles, totally transferrable. 

Protect yourself . . . ask your DMP representative for 
details! 


"NAME BRAND MICRO PRODUCTS AT 
NIP DISCOUNT PRICES" 


Discount Micro Products inc 

32210 Eight Mile Rcxad 
Farmington Hills. Michigan 48024 


QBB 


1-80O-PCS-TO-GO (Orders) 

(515) 477-5E00 If 800 lines Are Bust 
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(515) 477-4508 CorpoMte, Coiernment & Edvcatioi Inqviries < 
(515) 477-2774 For Customer Service t Order Tracking 
(515) 477-2795 Teckoical Support & Shipping 
(515) 477-2905 Fai line 


asB 



Stop Imagining, Call 1-800 -PCS -TO -GO NOW!!! 


Logic Series 286 Turbo 



OPTION #1: “Conplete" SystcM 

V 6/10 Mhz 286 AT motherboard 

V O wait states 

.. Phoenix Bios* #1 incompatibility! 
y/ 40MB hard disk drive, name brand 
1.2 MB floppy disk drive, name brand 
^ 80266-10 dual speed processor 

V 60267 co-processor* ready 

V 1 2” hi-res TTL monochrome monitor with tilt/swivel 
V. 512K RAM memory • 1 MB maximum 

V AT style case - nickel plated, biege 

V Turba power & disk LED lights 

, Heavy duty 200 watt switching power supply 
, Keybrard turbo speed switchability 

V Audio speaker 

V Clock calendar with battery back up 
, Hardware reset switch 

V 8 hardware expansion slots 

, Hercules compatible monochrome graphics card 

V 102 keyAT-style keyboard with lights 
«/ Hard disk and floppy disk controllers 

V Keyboard keylock with 2 keys 

V Parallel printer port 

V 48 hour burn • in & diagnostic testing 

V 100% IBM compatibility 

V Comprehensive 1 year parts A labor vrarranty 

V Component level documentation 


Total System . . . 



Logic Series XT Turbo 



OPTION #1: “CONiplete" Srstee 

✓ 4.77/10 Mhz 8066 XT motherboard 

✓ Phoenix or Award Bios 

✓ 30MB hard disk drive, name brand 

✓ 360KB floppy disk drive, name brand 

✓ 6088*2 dual speed processor 

✓ 8087 co-processor * ready 

✓ 1 2” hi-res TTL monochrome monitor with tilt/ swivel 

✓ 840K RAM memory 

✓ XT style case * nickel plated, slide 

✓ Heavy duty 150 watt switching power supply 

✓ Keyboard turbo speed switchability 

✓ Audio speaker 

✓ Clock calendar with battery back up 

✓ 8 hardware expansion slots 

✓ Hercules compatible monochrome graphics 

✓ CGA color graphics 

✓ Mouse interface 

✓ 84 key XT-style keyboard with lights 

✓ Game port plus light pen interface 

✓ Parallel printer port 

✓ Serial port RS232C 

✓ Hard disk & floppy disk controllers 

✓ 48 hour burn • in & diagnostic testing 

✓ 100% IBM compatibility 

✓ Comprehensive 1 year parts & labor warranty 

✓ Component level documentation 


Total System . . . 




OPTION #2: Base Systen 

^ 6/10/Mhz 286 AT motherboard ' 

V O wait states 
✓Phoenix Bios 

V 60266 *2 dual speed processor 
80287 co-processor - ready 

V AT style case - nickel plated beige 
k Turbo, power & disk LEO lights 

V Heavy duty 200 watt switching power supply 

V Keyb^rd turbo speed switchability 
^ Audio speaker 

V Clock calendar with battery back up 

V Hardware reset switch 

V 8 hardware expansion slots 

V Keyboard keylock with 2 keys 


Base System... 


c 




OPTION #2: Base Sfstea 

✓ 4.77/10Mhz 8068 XT motherboard 

V Phoenix or Award Bios 

✓ 8088 *2 dual speed processor 

✓ 8067 co-processor * ready 

V XT style case - nickel plated, slide 

\ Heavy duty 1 50 watt switching power supply 

V Audio speaker 

V. Clock calendar with battery back up 
6 hardware expansion slots 


Base System... 



1 TEMHUliUnt 
1 TEM nCMHKIIl sumn 


You need color? More storage? A co-processor? Whatever your specific needs, consult your DMP represen- 
tative to custom tailor the system that's right for you, your applications, and most important your budget! 


J 


TBK UPS, COD orders ere FOB Discount Micro Products leality -cash, 
cesiuer'scnech end money orders eccepted Prepay meii-in orders sent with 
personal or corporate ciwcks subtect to 1 5 day fund cJearance. Credit card 
customers add 3%. Prices shown are US currency c«sn wholesale, level 10 
Quartiity. All Items advertised are new with manufacture's warranty. Prices 
andavaiiabiinysubiecitochange without notice Mtchipan residents add 4% 
sales ISK. Orders urtder StOO. add SS lor hartdlir> 9 . Shipptrtg and Irtsurance 
costs are extra Assembly charpes lor computer syMems may apply. PurchsM 
orders accepted only upon approved credit ■ call lor conlirmation before 
remrttir)g - r>el 1 5 terms only. M sales lirtal Ail returns must be IreiQht prepaid. 
>r\aured ar>d accompanied by a valid RMA a secured from DMPe customer 
service department 15% restocXing tee applied to unauthorized returns 
and refused shipments Make eN instruments oavsNeiollHHMr — * — 


DHrs 

special Priority 
Delivery Service 

Piece your order from OMRs stock I 
beforeZOOpm^andltwillsNpthet I 
dey. Consult your DMP reprssenta- | 
live for ovamighl and “2nd da/" 
delivery anywhere in the USI 


HOUIS 

Monday-Friday 
9;00 am. to 7:00 p.m. 

Saturday , 
10:00 am. to 3:00 p.m. i 


CIRCLE 2290N READER SERVICE CARO 

f 





I- I K S I I. (I <) k S 


COMMUNIQUES 


edited by Bill Howard 



iheJanuan issue rj/ Vis a Vis. 
ihe VniieJ Airlines in-flixhl magazine. 

' 'Nerwork cards enable the llapiopj computer to plug into the cigarette 
lighter of your car. yacht, or train coach." Nice nonjudgmeniul photo. United. 


Amazing Facts I 

** Because Ethernet coaxial ca- 
ble is physically larger than 
twisted-pair copper wire, net- 
works using Ethernet have 
greater bandwidth, or capa- 
city.’* 

— MacWorld, January 1988 

I Amazing Facts 11 

“Another, more expensive op- 
I tion is the new 3 '/2-inch hard- 
I disk drive. These pocket-size, 
high-capacity disks are begin- 
ning to supplant S '/ 4 -inch disks 
and are recommended for first- 
time buyers.” 

I — Nation's Business, Janu- 

[ ary 1988 


Amazing Facts III 

**A monitor's resolution is typi- 
cally measured in dots per inch 
(dpi) . . . .One of the newest 
graphics monitors is the Video 
Graphics Array (VGA), which 
boasts a standi resolution of 
640 by 380 dpi . . ..EGA has a 
resolution of 640 by 3S0 
dpi . . . .” 

— PC Week, December 
22/29, 1987 

Amazing Facts IV 

“(The Psicm Organiser II] also 
accepts such other RS-232 de- 
vices as an AC adapter . . . .” 

— Lotus magazine. Decem- 
ber 1987 



The cover photo in Hewlett-Packard's Design Center about Federal Express 

shows an ATdT 6300 PC being loaded on the FedEx plane. 


Fearless Prognostication 

“First-time buyers and repeat customers will comprise the bulk of 
PC customers in the next two to three years, according to a study by 
Future Computing Incorporated.” 

— Access 87 magazine (for Wang users), December 1987 



Have you heard or seen anything offbeat, unusual, or just plain dumb about the micro- 
computer industry? Send your offerings to Communiques, PC Magazine . One Park Av- 
enue. New York. NY I00J6, or MCI Mail 157-9301. Please print your name legibly: 
include the name, city, and publication date of any newspaper clipping: and include 
your T-shirt size . Contributors will receive $50 and a PC Magazine T-shirt. In case of 
duplicate entries, the earliest postmark prevails. Sorry, but entries can't be acknowl- 
edged. 

Winners this issue: Jonathan Matzkin (laptop computer net>\‘ork cards). Kim 
Gardner (Hewlett-Packard magazine), Charles Tutt (Ethernet coax). Philip Wagner 
(3'/i-inch hard disks). Shannon Brunjes (dots per inch), Scott Strehlow (R5-232 AC 
adapter), D. Davidovic (bulk of PC customers). 


Cop; :: 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
62 


Illustration; Richard Orlio 




dBASE Foot for 1-2-3 


Last year we met a crazy programmer who said 
he could build a database with the power and 
capacity of dBASE and put it inside 1-2-3- 
Well, he works for us now, and if you know 
anything about database programs, his baby 
is going to knock your socks off. 

Introducing @ BASE, a full-feature rela- 
tional database add-in for 1 -2-3. Now anyone 
who knows howto use 1-2-3 is an instant 
database wizard because @ BASE turns I - 2 - 3 
into a powerful “front-end " for database appli- 
cations. It’s as aary as I -2-3- 


Huge capacity 

If you' ve every tried to use 1 - 2 - 3 as a data- 
base manager, there's a good chance you've ran 
out of memory. That's because l-2-3stotesdata 
in the worksheet. @ BASE stores data on disk 
where record capacity is virtually unlimited. 
You'll never ran out of memory again. 

Brains and brawn 


@ BASE compares with powerful stand- 
alone database programs like dBASE or 
RrBASE,® but it operates in concert with 1-2-3. 
You get the best of both worlds. l-2-3givesyou 
tools for data analysis. @ BASE gives you big 
data capacity. Brains and brawn. It's a nice 
combination. 

Inmlnutesyoucanbuildaworksheetwlth 
dynamic links to the database on disk. (The 
worksheet might present a sales recap by re- 
gion.) Next month, for up-to-date results, simply 

See our ad on page 305 


load and recalc the worksheet. Fresh database 
information is automatically linked from disk. 

Industry-standard file format 

@ BASE uses exactly the same file format 
as dBASE 111 and dBASE III Plus. dBASE is not 
required to use @BASE. But if you have stan- 
dardized on dBASE, (S' BASE fits right in. 
©BASE reads and writes dBASE files directly. 
No conversion is necessary. 

At less than a third the cost of dBASE, you 
may decide to use @ BASE instead of dBASE 
throughout your organization wherever users 
need easy access to dBASE infonnation. 


Serious Performance 


@ BASE beats dBASE 111 Plus in benchmark 
tests.* ©BASE is up to 3.7 times foster! 



dBASE III 

Plus 

@BASE 

Locate lecord 

12 sec 

12 sec 

Rack database 

7.1 min 

1.9 min 

Sort database 

10.8 min 

4.5 min 

*1^ with 4,000 lecoids, 34 fields per record 


©BASE works with 1-2-3 Release 2 on 
the IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 and compatibles. 
Only $195. No competing add-in database can 
match ©BASE for power, compatibiUty and 
performance. Nothing even comes dose. 

ORCLE 282 ON RE ADER SERVICE CARD 


Introducing @ BASE 

(pronounced "at base”) 

^ BASE'** puls the power ofdBASE Ml Plus® 

inside 1-2-3.® 

With ^ BASE you can: 

• Insiantly transform an on-sheet database 
to a dBASE-compatible database on disk. 

• Use 1 -2-3 as a "front-end" for existing 
dBASE applications. 

• Build a complete database application 
from scratch using 1 - 2-3 to control 
database functions. 


^ BASE Features 


• (luge capaciw > data is stored on disk. 
•Occupies only 72K RAM + 8K per open file. 

• Fully compatible wth dBASE III file formal. 

• Flexible data suiictures; 

-Table view 

- Form view 

- Crosstab view 

• Powerful Quety/Seleciion commands. 

• Bi-directional data transfer between 
worksheet and database. 

• Dviiamic link between worksheet and data- 
base using new database @ functions. 

• Fully compatible with l-2-3macros. 

• Multi-level sort (ascending/'descending). 

• Global multi-field search and replace. 

• Create/modi^’ database definition. 

• .\nd much much more! 

You can open, access and update multiple data 
files concurrently using spe^ @ db hinctions. 
.An optional module, available soon, lets you 
"join” data files on one or more common fields, 
and support index files. Option price is $89-95. 



Please send me: 

copiesof^ BASE at $195 each 

Include $5-75 shipping ($12 outside USA and 
Canada) . .VIA residents add 5% sales lax. 
ftiyment: VISA MC AMEX Dineis Check 

CAHl# 

CtTMn ~ 

NA.MF 



1b «da. null coupon or call loll-fice 
In MA 800 -447 1196 Nutonallv 


P PERSONICS CORPORATION 
2352 MAIN STREET 
CONCORD, MA 01742 
617-897-1575 



dBASEUseis! 

Independent Reviewers Say: 


Noboiy Beats The Fox 
...Noboily’s Even Close 


I FoxBASE+/386 
FoxBASE+ 


Quicksilver 


Clipper 


dBASE III PLUS 


Data Based Advisor 


FoxBASE+ 



BYTE Magazine 


FOXBASE+ Fastest By Far 

BYTE* benchmarks show that 
FoxBASE+ takes only 14 minutes to 
do what dBASE III PLUS needs an 
hour to do. The others are even 
slower. Clipper needs an hour and 17 
minutes. Quicksilver needs an hour 
and 40 minutes. 

Nobody beat FoxBASE+ in even one 
of the 27 BYTE benchmarks. 
FoxBASE+ zipped through the 
exhaustive Data Based Advisor** 
benchmarks in just 15.5 minutes. New 
FoxBASE+ /386 ran them in only 7 
minutes! By contrast Clipper took 53 


minutes, Quicksilver took 59 minutes, 
and dBASE III PLUS took an hour and 
18 minutes. 

Why Waste Your Time? 

BYTE’s data shows FoxBASE+ is up 
to 7 times faster. DBA’s benchmarks 
show FoxBASE + is over 5 times faster. 
You can run with Fox ... or you can 
crawl with them. 

F0XBASE+ Delivers Mow. . . The 
Others Only Promise 

We’re totally committed to insuring 
that FoxBASE + will always be fastest 
. . . now and in the future, ibu can 't buy 
a faster product. 


But that’s not all. . . 

FoxBASE+ offers other great features 
like; true compatibility. . .familiar 
interactive conunands like BROWSE 
and EDIT. . . “dot-prompt” program- 
ming . . . major language extensions . . . 
ideal development environment . . . and 
a money-back guarantee. 

So call us for the details. After all . . . 


Nothing Runs Like a Fox. 



FoxBASE. FoxBASE+ . and FoxBASE+ /386 are trademarks of Fox Software. Fox Software 

dBASE ni PLUS is a trademark of Ashton-Tate. Clipper is a trademark of Nantucket. 118 W. South Boundary, Perrysburg, Ohio 43551 

Quicksilver is a trademark of WordTech Systems. (419) 874-0162 Telex: ^3040827 FOX 

•Using the benchmark timings published in BYTE, September 1987. FAX: (419) 874-8678 

••Using the suite of benchmarks published in Data Based Advisor, March 1987. 


CIRCLE 112 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


VIEWPOINTS 

■ BILL MACHRONE 


Critical mass 



Products live and die in our marketplace on their own merits . Some, however, achieve critical 
mass and become self-sustaining. But what does it have to do with Henny Youngman? 


L otus 1-2-3, with a couple of million 
copies out there, has it. Even if the 
company went belly-up tomorrow, 
the 1-2-3 aftermarket, education, and sup- 
port businesses would continue for years. 
That's critical mass. 

XyWriie. with substantially less than a 
tenth of /-2-J's sales, has it too, but for 
completely different reasons. 

Critical mass is unimportant compared 
with the quality of a product. Yet it's vital- 
ly important to the competitive formula 
that makes one product succeed over an- 
other. It's the measure not only of sales, 
but of support. Products without critical 
mass often wither and die. simply because 
they lack word of mouth and user-level 
support. The only thing worse, as Oscar 
Wilde .said, than being talked about is not 
being talked about. Likewise, there is vir- 
tually no such thing as bad publicity. 

Those casual mentions keep up the retail 
demand for a product. They also give cur- 
rent users a sense that they haven't fallen 
behind the times or made a bad choice. Af- 
ter a while you get the idea that maybe you 
should have upgraded from EasvWriler 
X.OordBASEII. 

Critical mass is not an absolute number. 
Nor is it a straight percentage of market 
share. It varies dramatically by the type of 
product. A new spreadsheet would have to 
have hundreds of thousands of copies in 
the field before it could be considered a se- 
rious challenge to 1-2-3. New products 
have a way of changing the ground rules, 
though. Microsoft Excel is less likely to 
grow at Lotus's expense than to attract new 
users who might have otherwise decamped 

p 


to the Macinto.sh market for the latest in 
windowing and graphics. Lucid 3D might 
replace 1-2-3 for some low-end. occasion- 
al users, but it is far more attractive to those 
who will appreciate its compact, pop-up 
nature and its nested, hierarchical struc- 
ture. Laptop users are likely candidates for 
Lucid. 

Among databases, one way that prod- 
ucts achieve critical mass is by doing cer- 
tain things better than the market leader, 
dBASE III Plus. For instance. Rtbase Sys- 
tem V and Paradox 2.0 are widely regard- 
ed to be superior in local area networking. 
DataBase is considered the ease-of-use 
champ in the high-end market. Its newest 
incarnation has the market cornered in mi- 
cro-to-mainframe distributed data applica- 
tions, too. Informix and Oracle come from 
the minicomputer world, where SQL is old 
hat. All [X)S-ba.sed databa.se products are 
Johnny-come-latelies by comparison. 
Each of these products has momentum. 



MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2‘). 198 
65 


and true to Newton's law, an object in mo- 
tion tends to remain in motion. 

Critical mass can be attained, even with 
very small numbers, by following a few 
time-tested rules. 

Keep changing New versions are 
important. Nothing makes a user .start 
looking around more than the sense that 
he's falling behind. Expanded features, 
greater speed, and add-on programs all 
contribute to the sense that a product is go- 
ing somewhere. But wait, you might say. 
What about 1-2-32 With all the time it's 
been out there, it's still only had one major 
upgrade and two version changes. True, 
but that was in the face of almost no com- 
petition. Lotus's likeliest competitors. 
Multiplan and SuperCalc. are successful 
products but lack the magnetic appeal of 
1-2-3. Multiplan never got the formula 
right, and by the time SuperCalc got it, the 
game was over. 

KEEP CUSTOMERS HAPPY Active 
support is key to critical ma.ss. Users who 
get answers give recommendations. Ad- 
vice from knowledgeable or experienced 
individuals remains the single most power- 
ful marketing force. WordPerfect doesn't 
have any magical feature set that makes it 
better than other word processors. It has 
the biggest 800-line operation in the soft- 
ware business, though. It's phenomenally 
expensive and just as succe.ssful. 

USE THE USER User groups are like 
an extension of the customer service de- 
partment. All it takes is a few members of 

8 


lUieiraiion: (Undy Jones 



WHATS OPTIONAL ON THEIRS IS 

STANDARD ON OURS!! 


12MHz 

CompleteSystem 
with 1 2MB Drive 
& Monographic Monitor 
Assembled & Tested 
IBM*'AT Compatible 
With MSOOS 3.3 
Add $89.95 


^AT12 

$999 


Standard Features 


■ 802S6 12/6 MHz (Keyboard 
Switchabie) 1 1 .7 Norton S.i. Rating 

■ 640K of RAM on 1MB Motherboard 

■ 200W Power Supply 

■ Ports: (1 ) Serial . (1 ) Parallel, (1 ) Game 

■ Dual Fioppy/Oual Hard Drive Controller 

■ (8) Expansion Slots 

■ 101 Enhanced “AT Touch & Click 
Style Keyboard 

■ Clock Calendar w/Battery Backup 

■ Hercules Compatible Video Card 
(720 X 348) w/Parallel Port (2nd) 

m Quality Hl-Resolutlon Amber Monitor 
w/Tilt & Swivel 

Mono System W/40MB 

Miniscribe HD #3650 395 QQ 

Mono System W/40MB 

Seagate HD #251 $1495 00 

Base Unit w/o Monitor 

$899.00 


standard Features 


30 DAY SATISFACTION GUARANTEE 
Your complete satisfaction is our top priorty. Any 
Swan system may be returned within 30 days from 
the date of shipment for a full refund. * 

FOR YOUR PROTECTION WE GO THE 
EXTRA YEAR A full 1 year warranty is included, 
with a 2nd year SEW (Swan Extended Warranty) 
available. Call or write for details. 

FAST DELIVERY... We ship within 24 hours.' 
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call 9*5 Mon*Fri to answer ail of your questions and 
make sure that you get the most from your systems. 

YOUR COMPUTER INVESTMENT 
IS HASSLE FREEH! 


SWAN VIDEO & I/O CARDS 


Monographics half card (720 x 348) 

Hercules Compatible w/parallel port $69.95 

Color half card (640 x 200) 

CGA Compatible $69.95 


Monographics, Hercules Compatible. 

2 Floppy Controller. Parallel. Serial. Gameport. 

Clock & Calender w/Battery Backup $119.95 

Same board as above.except with CGA 
output instead $109.95 


Items returned must be as-new. without mptfltcanbn or 
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be included. Return shipping must be prepaid and insured, 
bearing a RAC (Return Autnoriation Code) on the shipping 
label, t Custom ^sterns May Take Longer. 


Option Upgrades for XT10 & AT12; 

Hercules to CGA with CGA Card and RGB Monitor Add $170.00 

Hercules to EGA with EGA Card (operates in CGA, MDA, or 

HGA modes)and Packard Bell EGA Monitor Add $399.00 


1 10M,77 MHz 8080-1 CPU 
I 640K RAM 
1 150W Power Supply 
1 8 Expansion Slots 
I (1) Serial Port 
I H^cules Compatible 
Video Card (720 x 348) 


I (1) Parallel Port 
I (1) Game Port 
I Clock Calendar 
w/Battery Backup 
1101 Key Enhanced 
-AT Touch & Click 
Style Keyboard 


■ Quality Hl-Resolutlon Amber Monitor w/Tllt & Swivel 

Mono System w/Dual Floppies ... $ 669.00 

Mono System W/20MB Seagate HD $ 889 . 00 * 

Mono System W/30MB Hard Drive .. $ 929 . 00 * 

Base Unit w/o Monitor or Video Card .i $ 499 . 00 * 


*Singl 0 360K Floppy Drive 




Siuan 


10MHz 

Complete System 
with Single 360K Drive 
& Monographic Monitor 
Assembled & Tes^ 
IBM* XT Compatible 
With MSDOS 3.3 
Add $89.95 


^599 


DON'T 


AMERICAN 


QMOFPSlO^w^ 

Paradox (2.0) 

...$4004)0 

ASHTON-TATE 

D Base HU ..... 

Framework II 

Multimate Advantage 1 
Raprdlile 

..83894)0 
..$399410 
„ $299.95 
..$244.00 

BOEING 

Boeing Graph 

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> 

■ORUIND 


$129.00 





Reflex Workshop 

....$44.95 

S4dekick( unprotected) 

....$54.95 



Sprint 

....$CALL 


Turbo C $75.95 

Turbo Database Toolbox $44.95 

Turbo Gameworks ... $44.95 

Turbo Graph)! Toolbox ...S39.95 

Turbo Lightning $59.95 

Turbo Pascal....^ $82.95 

Turbo Pascal N. Methods$62.9S 

Turbo Prolog .....$64.95 

Turbo Prolog Toolbox $62.95 

Turbo Tutor $27.95 



161 CLOSEOUT ..$1199 
■ 4.77 MHZ ■ Llmltad OuantRlas 


PRINTERS 

#CITIZEIV 











SCALL 



Panasonic 


1001111 

POR 


pRiriNr: 




$599.00 







Laser Pnnter ... 

SCALL 



NX-1000 SCALL 

NX-1000 Rainbow .....SCALL 

NX.15 ..S349J00 

ND-10 ...$289.00 

ND-15 $4294)0 

N824-10 $499.00 

N824-15 $639.00 


EPSON 


n CALL 

FOR PRICING 
ON EPSON PRODUCTS 



OPEN: 8:00AM-9:00PM Mon-Fri; 10:00AM-S:00PM Sat, 12:OOPM-8:OOPM Sun EAST COAST TIME 


TUSSEY COMPUTER PRODUCTS 


P 0 BOX 1006 

STATE COLLEGE. PA 16004 







SETTLE FOR LESS..,tCp SHIPS IT 


SOFTWARE 


BRODERBUNU 
Graphics Library Disks .... 

..$24.95 

Print Shc^ Companion.... 

..$32.00 

CENTRAL POINT 




PC Tools Deluxe 

..$44.00 

CHANG LABS 



MERIDKAN TECHNOLOGY 
CartMn Copy Pius_^„S1M.OO 
MICROPRO 


OMNIS /h>/n BLYTH 

Qumh $CALL 

PAPF.RHACK SOFTWARE 


WordStar 20004- 

Wordstar Prof Rei 4 

$219.00 

....$229.00 

Executive Wrwr— — 

VP Graphics 

..$39.95 

..$79.95 

MICRORIM 


VP-Info 

..$59.00 

R Base for DOS 

$CALL 

VP Planner Pius~.~....... 

.$99.95 


DAC SOFTWARE 

Dac Easy Accounting .^^$99.95 
OocEasyAcct Tutor .^^.$19.95 

Dec Easy Payroll S39.95 

Oac Easy Payrou Tutor $24.95 

DAYBREAK 


Firni GENERATION_ 
FUNK 


GENERIC SOFTWARE 

o mmm e *ootB mm 

O tntii Q CABO wPot Plot JMJB 
LIVING VIDEOTEXT 


Micivsoft’ 

PC Excpl $CALL 

PCWot1(t $137.00 

Bookshelt w/CO ROM...$CALL 

C Compilof $264.95 

Chart 3.0 $264.95 

Flight Simulator $34.95 

Fortran $264.95 

Macro Assambler $92.00 

MS-DOS 6 GW BasK: ...$CALL 


Mouse 

Pascal ... 

Protect .. 

Quick Basic 

Windows 2.02 - 

Windows/386 

Word Version 4 0.. 


..$115.00 

..$179.00 

$349.00 

$59.95 

$69.00 

$157.95 

$254.95 


Smart Notes $47.95 


SOFTWARE PUBLISHING 

First Pubiishar. 

$84.95 

Harvard Total PM II 

-..$349.00 

Harvard Graphics .. 

-..$229.00 

PFS Fif« Choice ... 

$94 

Professional File 

.-.$139.00 

Professional Plan... 

.-.$139.00 

Professional Write . 

....$109.00 










Symphony 

$439.00 


MECA 

MMiglRI VOW Momr-JIlSJI 


MICROSTUFF 

Crosstah XVI $94.00 

NORTON PRODUCTS 

Norton Commander $39.95 

Norton UtiMies $49.95 

Norton Advanced Utilities .$84.00 


SPRINGBOARD 




SYMANTEC 

^ 

^*88 

TURNER HALL 


orvMM 

..ICAU 

UNISON WORLD 

WORD PERFECT 







Plan Perfect — 

...SCALL 


XEROX 
Ventura Publisher . 


HARDWARE 

PC HARD DRIVES 

♦MiniScribe 

30M8 XT Drive w/cont.(65 ms) $339.00 

30MB Hard Card (65 ms) $429.00 

30MB AT Hard Card $479.00 

40MB AT Drive (65 ms) $359.00 

40MB AT Drive (28 ms) $579.00 

^Seagate 

ST-225 20MB w/cont.(65 ms) $289.00 

ST-238 30MB w/cont.(6S ms) $359.00 

ST-251 -0 40MB (42 ms) $439.00 

ST-251-1 40MB (28 ms) $499.00 

WeSTERiy DiGtTAL 

File Card 20 $399.00 

File Card 30 $479.00 

AT FD/HO Conlroller $159.00 


SuKin Technologic/ 

TAPE DRIVE BACKUPS 

1 YR WARRANTY 

40MB XT Tape (Internal) .. 

$339.00 

40MB XT Tape (External) . 

$459.00 

40MB AT Tape (Internal) .. 

$359.00 

40MB AT Tape (External) . 

$479.00 


MAGNAVOX 



_ $89.00 


$89.00 

8762 RGB 

$249.00 

8515 RGB 

$289.00 

8053 EGA 

$399.00 

8873 EGA Muttimode 

$479.00 


PC ADD ON BOARDS 


AST 




Advantage Premium ... 

....$319.00 

Rampage 286 

....$379.00 



SixPakPremiom — 

—$259.00 

VO Mm. 

....$119.00 


'^SSuion 


MONITORS 


RAM CARDS 


ATI 

Qnpl 

tOAWHndv. 

BOCA R ESEARC H 

CALL FOR FMCMQ ON VID80 


iiKiue* sotxmr* utimiM oiak 

XT RAM CARD w/OK.. $99.95 

Cell For Pnong on 
$l2K/tMB.^MB Upgrades 
AT RAM CARD vy/0K.$119.95 
Cak For Pnong on 
512K/1M&2MB Upgrades 

INTEL 

AboveBMrd PC $219.00 

AboveBoard P&XT... $K9.00 

AboveBoard 286 $309.00 


EGA 

NEC Multisync II $CALL 

Packard Bell 

EGAA^GAHTL Auto ...$419.00 
Amdek 722 $477.00 




cptr cnAARft 1 


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Graohics Plus 

9179 00 

In-Colof Card $299.00 

Other Hercules boards In stock.. 
Call for price 


PARADISE 


Autoswitch 350 — 

$149.00 

Autoswitoh 480 .... 

$169X10 

ZUCKER 

CGA ... 

$89,9f 


THOMSON O 

Uttraacan .....$429 

Umited Quantities 


Monochrome Graphics .....$94.95 
Memory Expansion _._......$CALL 


MOUSE IMSI 

PC Mouse w/Or.Hak) III $89X0 



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cessories under 6 pounds will be 
shipped FEDERAL EXPRESS (Ve. 

even at these pnces) You only pay TCP's standard shippir^ 
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our time will be shipped out same day If part of your order is 
backordered the remainder will be shipped UPS Ground FREE! 

SECURITY 

■ Your Credit Card is not charged until your 
order is shipped. 

■ We insure your order at r>o extra cost to you. 

■ Tussey is a financially strong and welt 
established company 





CUSTOMER SUPPORT 

■ After sales support. 

■ Knowledgeable staff, ail graduates of 
Tussey's "Computer Boot Camp*. 

■ Our advanced warehouse/matenals 

handling system assures your order is 
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To order by mail : Wc accept money order, certified check, personal check 
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Terme: ALl PRICES REFLECT 
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FOR MASTERCARD OR VISA. 

ALL SALES ARE FINAL Detecsve items replaced or repaired at our discre 
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TTL Monochrome 
Amdek 4 1 0A Amber 

Green.or White $149.00 

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RGB 

Qoiaiar418$ WtMP 

Thomeon 4190 8fy94P 


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Swan Technotoglee 

Includes PC Talk III BOtware 

1200 baud Iniamai . 

....$69.00 

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..$119.00 

Hayes Smart Modem 




Packard Bell External 
300/1 200 baud 

..$149.00 

2400 baud External — 

..$279.00 

US Robotics Sportster 
300/1200 baud 

..$139.00 

Zucker 

300/1200 Halt Card Modem 

with software - 

....$87.00 




DISKS 

per box or 10 3^0" S.25' 

BONUS OSOO $6 9S 

MAXELL OS/OO S' 7 95 $9 95 
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W 


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Numeric ('oprocessors 

8087 $104.00 

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80287 $179.00 

80267-8 $259.00 


Call lor Pricing 
on Memory Chipe. Prices 
are toe volatile to lisllf! 


PC1640 IMSTRU PPC640 

DESK TOP 

PORTABLE . 

■ 6MHz Processor/640K 

■ 3 Available Slots 

■ Parallel. Senai. & Game Port 

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plasm HJF 

SPEED UP YOUR COMPUTER! 


NOT COPY PPOTCCTeO 


SAVE & LOAD 123 FILES IN 1/2 THE TIME. 


Increase the speed ol your programs by as 
much as 2-5 times. FLASH will make programs 
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ison of FLASH fo Lightning features. 

FREE OFFER: 

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When you buy FLASH you get our new prod- 
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FLASH RAM-DfSK uses memory only when 
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RAM-DISK files are deleted. FLASH KEYS 
speeds up your cursor for scrolling & editing. 
These programs normally sell for $29.95 each. 


FEATURES 

F L 

Speeds up disk access 

+ • 

Can utilize above board type memory 


Can utilize AT EXTENDED memory 

-E 

Can utilize up to 3 Megabytes of RAM 

+ 

Can butler up to 26 device drivers 

-F 

Optional Track Read & Write (Speeds 123) 

■f 

Glue files into buffer 

*• 

No learning curve everytime system boots 

■F 

Over 30 commands 

+ 

Less than $70 

4- 

Printer Spooler Interface 


RAM DISK Interface 



FLASH matches or out performs LIGHTNING 
GUARANTTEO! 


Reg. price 

Limited time S69.95 


BACK-TO-DOS $49.95 NEW! 


Back-To-Dos allows you to interrupt the program you are working on. go to DOS. do ANY DOS 
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• imagine DOS at your f inoer tips 

• Imagine ONLY 15K of RAM needed for this 

• Imagine —Being in word processing 

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—Formatting a disk 
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—Saving your file 


SPOOL-MASTER 5.0 $49.95 NEW! 


» Imagine —Being in a spreadsheet 
—Going to DOS 

—Running your database program 
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• Wor1(s when screen in graphics mode too 




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VIEWPOINTS 

■ BILLMACHRONE 


a group to decide they have a common in- 
terest in a product, form a SIG (special in- 
terest group), and you’re off. They provide 
support, training, program development, 
and beta testing — for free. Software manu- 
facturers were, by and large, incredibly 
slow in discovering the power of user 
groups. Now they're catching on. They 
provide visits, demonstrations, materials, 
and direct support lines for special-inter- 
est-groups. 

OPEN-ENDEDNESS One of the key 
elements in products that attain critical 
mass is programmability. When the manu- 
facturer builds in a macro language or un- 
derlying programming language, the prod- 
uct is extendable; it rises above the static 
nature of its feature set. It also allows oth- 
ers to show how smart they are by adapting 
the package to a specific application. Kit- 
built applications are very much in keeping 
with the kit-built nature of the PC, where 
technically astute individuals do most of 
the preliminary work for end users. In- 
deed. configurability is what sets PCs 
apart from all the kinds of computing that 
have gone before. Programmability also 
gives the word-of-mouth brigade some- 
thing to talk and argue about. I'm contin- 
ually amazed by the sheer number of peo- 
ple who will submit themselves to the 
extraordinary effort required to learn a pro- 
prietary macro language and then say, 
“But I don't know how to program,” 
when in fact they are creating entire appli- 
cations within an application. 

BENNY YOUNCMAN FACTOR Final- 
ly, software with critical mass is explain- 
able as a one-liner, its purpose immediate- 
ly apprehensible. 1-2-3 is an electronic 
spreadsheet. MalhCAD is a computerized 
engineer’s notebook. 

Even if the one-liner defines a product’s 
limitations, it still serves the basic purpose 
of clarification and communication. For 
instance, XyWrile is complex and com- 
mand driven, but it’s fast and great for in- 
dexes and tables of contents. Omnis 
Quartz is a network-hierarchical database 
that can be made to look relational but only 
runs in Windows. 

You get the idea. These lines would 
bomb in a nightclub, but they’re boffo in 
our marketplace. fiS 


CIRCLE 488 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


PC MAGAZINE 
68 






Roger Staubach and Terry Bradshaw 
on Dac'Easy 



dac software, inc. 
Fisico 


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or monochrome monitor, 256K memory. Trademarks: IBM, PC-DOS, MS*DOS. Dac-Easy 
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For Once They Agree! 

Light’s Less Filling Accounting 
for Home & Office. 

Roger: Of course I’d never argue with you, Terry, about Dac-Easy 
Light because I know it’s perfect for office accounting. 
DaC'Easy Light let’s me concentrate on doing business, 
not accounting. Using the predeffned chart of accounts, 
^ ideal for small business, I can enter customers and 

vendors — and start processing invoices and checks in 
just minutes! 

Terry: Roger, when did we ever disagree about 
anything? You know Dac-Easy Light is perfect for 
home accounting. Light makes home finances fast, 
fiin and easy. The preset home chart of accounts has 
everything 1 need. I can write checks and do bank 
reconciliations by computer without knowing the first 
thing about accounting. 

Roger: Light makes it a snap to track sales and budget 
expenses for up to 12 months on-line. With Light, I know 
my business’ current financial status in minutes. 

Terry: It’s the same with home accounting finances, 
Roger. I can get my personal net worth in seconds since 
Light instantly reflects the effect of changes, payments, 
withdrawals and deposits. 

Roger: Light gives me the option of handling account- 
ing on a cash or accrual basis. Plus, if 1 forget any 
account or customer, I can quickly call it up in 
a window. 

Terry: Well don't forget this, Roger. With Dac-Easy 
Light I can quickly set up new credit card accounts, post 
receipts, and keep tabs on current card balances. Plus, I 
don’t have to know debits or credits because the system 
knows and automatically does them for me. 

Roger: Terry, for once I think you’re right. Light’s so 
smooth and easy to handle, even you can use it. 

Terry: And you’re right, too, Rog. Using Light, you’ll 
have more time to spend on the golf course. I just hope 
you're not trying to compete with my hall of fame game! 

$69.95 

Dac-Easy Light. Ideal for 
the home, office or both! 
Within minutes, you can 
install and begin using a 
complete accounting sys- 
tem working behind the 
screen. There’s no need to know accounting. And with 
Dac-Easy Light there are no surprises. Everything you 
already know about writing checks to creating invoices is 
im-screen in a format you’ll recognize. So get a taste of the 
good life with Dac-Easy Light. A less filling accounting 
program for the home and office. 

See Your Favorite Local Retailer 
or CaU 1-800-992-7779 

(In Texas 214/458>(X)38. In Canada 1'800'387'9674) 



Less Filling Accounting 
for Home and Office. 


CIRCLE 220 ON READER SERVICE CARD 




If the world had one computer communications standard 

wouldn’t need Crosstalk Mk.4 


The fact is, today’s bewildering 
variety of computers demands 
a program like this — an 
entirely new generation of com- 
munications software. 

CROSSTALK® Mk. 4 helps 
your PC perform up to 15 con- 
current sessions with any 
combination of direct-connect, 
modem, coax, or X.PC devices. 
It facilitates communication with 


mainframes and minis through 
IRM A'“and Smart Alec™ It works 
with most popular modems . . . em- 
ulates most popular terminals... 
and supports the most widely 
used file transfer protocols. 

Its language, CASL7 is 
designed specifically for com- 
munications and related applica- 
tions. It allows an unprecedented 
degree of flexibility and auto- 


mation for experts and novice 
operators alike. 

Maybe all computers can’t 
be identical. But now at least 
they can communicate. For more 
about CROSSTALK Mk. 4, see 
your dealer or contact us. 




CIRCLE 278 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


CROSSTALK COMMUNICATIONS/ 1000 Holcomb Woods Parkway, Roswell, Georgia 30076/(800)241-6393 

A Division of Digital Communications Associates. Inc. cjcci ' 


CROSSTALK isa registered trademark of Digital Commumcaliiins Assnoaies. Inc. CASE. IRMA and Smart Alec are trademarks nf I'tigiial GimmunicaDons .Assoaaies, Inc. 

X . PC IS a trademark nf Tymshare. Iik. 


COf^yiiyiiitid 


Vltw POINTS 

■ JOHN C. DVORAK 


The bkj ue 

Did you ever wonder why UNIX, portable programs, and natural language interfaces are 
always being sold with such boundless enthusiasm? 



T here is always a motive to tell a lie. 
It may be less painful than the truth. 
It may be convenient. It may be 
necessary for survival. To be effective at 
selling an inferior (or useless) product, one 
must use lies but must be somehow con- 
vinced that the lie is true. This kind of lie is 
known as the big lie. It’s the kind of lie that 
governments use. It’s the whopper. 

In the world of computers we see what 
appear to be a lot of false claims. In this in- 
dustry the smallest and most insignificant 
false claim is treated by the perpetrator as a 
big lie. Let’s face it, some people are sin- 
cere when they swear up and down that 
their spreadsheet is better than Lotus 1-2-3. 
“If only we had more money to spend on 
marketing,” they’ll tell you. Yeah, right. 

UNIX AND OTHER LIES More inter- 
esting to me are those big lies that become 
institutionalized as one guy after another 
comes along to promote the idea. My fa- 
vorite example is the notion that UNIX 
will not only achieve success as a personal 
computer operating system but will domi- 
nate the scene and be the operating system 
of choice. Every so often some salesman 
will convince himself that this is true and 
reestablish this notion in the public do- 
main. It amuses me. Here’s UNIX, the 
multitasking, multiuser operating system 
that’s been around since the days of the 
Cro-Magnon, and its heyday is still ex- 
pected. Folks, forget it. 

Understanding the imagined appeal of 
UNIX helps us understand another institu- 
tionalized big lie: the notion that software 
portability is important. UNIX is praised 


for its portability more than anything. If 
something can be ported from one diver- 
gent system to another, this is somehow 
good, say the zombies. 

Portability. I know a company that 
makes a fairly decent telecom product, but 
their insistence that the thing be “as porta- 
ble as possible’ ’ resulted in a product that 
could easily be run off of a teletype. While 
this is fine if you need to tun it off of a tele- 
type, it hardly appeals to the 80386 user 
with a VGA card. Users don’t want porta- 
bility. In fact, they could cate less about it. 
Few IBM users ever use an Apple or a 
CP/M clunker, so why would they cate if a 
program looked and felt the same on an- 
other machine? It’s the UNIX folks who 
have promoted the notion that portability is 
important. A big lie. 


SAY ITIN PLAIN ENGLISH? Isuppose 
this all relates to some socialistic appeal to 
a sense of universality — the common user 



interface that we’ll never see. This think- 
ing leads to another common big lie: the 
computer that understands “plain En- 
glish.” I remember a minicomputer called 
the Adam that suppo.sedly understood 
plain English. It didn’t. 

The funny thing about this notion is that 
users could really care less. Once people 
learn about computers they ate happy as a 
clam to merely mouse-click an icon or type 
“DIR” at the command line to get the di- 
rectory. It’s sure easier than typing “Mr. 
Computer, may I have the directory of all 
my files?” Or, even worse, saying some- 
thing like that into a microphone. Still we 
see products like Clout (remember it?) 
come and go. The vendors are still con- 
vinced that all they needed was mote mar- 
keting money. 

The notion of the “understands plain 
English” computer has the same misguid- 
ed roots as the ‘ ‘computer that never needs 
programming.” The results of this think- 
ing ate program generators who you can 
speak to in plain English and who then 
crank out an elaborate program. Pearl was 
a very forgettable example of this type of 
thinking. Then there came Savvy and the 
biggest fiasco of them all, a product called 
The Last One. 

Let’s not even begin to talk about com- 
puter products sold as religion such as Val- 
docs or FORTH or the Macintosh. Life is 
too short. 

The big question is, dear reader, can 
you spot the big lie when it comes your 
way — on some inevitable day in the future 
when a guy looks you in the eye and says, 
“It’s the greatest!” 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
71 


llliutntion: Ruidy Jones 


UNUKK ns HIU 386 POWER 
WITH SCO XENIX 386 - NOW! 


U nder DOS, the COMPAQ DESKPRO 386/20" is a powerful 
single-tasking, single-user system that can tun thou- 
sands of DOS applications. In 16-bit, 8086 mode. 

One at a time. 

When OS/2" software becomes available, this 
computer can become a multitasking, single- 
user system running in 16-bit, 286 mode that 
can also single-task those DOS applications 
under OS/2. 

One at a time. 

With DOS or OS/2, it will support one 
user — for the cost of the entire system. 

U nder SCO" XENIX* 386, however, the 

COMPAQ DESKPRO 386/20 becomes a powerful 
multitasking, multiuser system that can mn thousands 
of proven XENIX applications. In ftill-tilt, 32-bit, 386 mode. 



W ith SCO XENIX 386, this powerful computer can sup- 
port multiuser configurations of 16, 32, or even more 
workstations with such blazing performance that indivi- 
dual users will believe they have the whole system to 
themselves — at an unbelievably low cost per user. 

And the best news is that you can unlock 
A the full power of the COMPAQ DESKPRO 
386/20 today because you can get SCO XENIX 
386 — nowl 


SCOXENK System V and the SCO XENIX family 
scftware solutions is available for all industry 
standardSOSC, 80286-. and80386-basedcom 
puters, and the IBM*' Persona! ^em/2'' 
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CIRCLE 245 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



V I K W POINTS 

■ JOHN C. DVORAK 


Insidetrack 


Will Compaq license the MCA? Are computer viruses 
running amok? Will Sun emerge from its new dark cloud? 


T ales of PS/2 and the Micro Chan- 
nel. Look for Zenith and Compaq to 
pay the piper and license the IBM Micro 
Channel. Insiders say they’ll buy access 
to the technology; IBM has not con- 
fiimed any deals. Details of the agree- 
ment aren't known, but it may cost both 
companies a bundle if they buy into the 
patent and technology exchange contract 
that most of the mainframe builders had 
to do long ago. A typical arrangement for 
someone to use IBM's patents is 3 per- 
cent of the company’s total revenue paid 
as a royalty. 

It should be easy enough to build a 
PS/2 clone as Chips and Technologies 
makes the first clone chips available. In- 
tel and a host of other VLSI specialists 
will follow. 

Chips and Technologies recently 
bought Up-To-Date Technology of Sun- 
nyvale in an interesting move to keep 
the market for its chips hot. 

Up-to-Oate is the outfit that did the 
popular Leading Edge machine and a few 
other designs for Samsung. Best known 
for quick turnaround and gixxi design. 
Much credit goes to design wiz Frank 
Spahn. who. it seems, can design a 
clone in a day. With this group, C&T 
can do a custom systems board design for 
a C&T customer during the time the 
chips are being developed, so chips and 
systems arrive on the scene nearly simul- 
taneously. 

The Consumer Electronics Show 
used to be a showcase for both crackpot 
and state-of-the-art technologies. Ever 
since the crash of the home computer 
business and decimation of the home 
game computer, the show has become 
conservative with emphasis on cam- 
corders and screwball phones. When 
high technology of the sort seen in years 


past is shown, what we see is a grim re- 
minder that the Japanese arc embarrass- 
ing us at every turn. My favorite example 
is a technology called EDTV (enhanced 
definition TV). While Americans are still 
arguing over what to do, the Japanese 
have already moved ahead. The results 
are a laugh riot. We are tending towards a 
wide-screen system with 420 by 420 
lines of resolution. This compares to 330 
lines of resolution in use today. 

The EDTV image is beautiful, espe- 
cially on the wide screen. But there are 
no plans to manufacture or broadcast 
with this technology. Government ap- 
proval is needed. Committees are need- 
ed. Meanwhile in July, the Japanese 
are preparing to broadcast their ver- 
sion of EDTV. The equipment is already 
in prtxluetion. Toshiba had a system at 
the show for display. It was also a wide- 
screen TV with 1 ,000 by 720 lines of res- 
olution! The company also had a 3-D TV 
that was flickerle,ss and used the double- 
scan technology being broadcast in Japan 
already. We continue to argue in Con- 
gress about these things. We're still wait- 
ing for the aging digital audio tape de- 
bate to settle down. 

The Japanese simply own the consum- 
er electronics business. How long will it 
be before the personal computer market 
succumbs? 

The irony of all this is that we see our- 
selves as the world's greatest business- 
men. The notion even permeates the PC 
software development business. I don’t 
know if you noticed, but there seems to 
be a boom in computer simulations of 
business situations. I've received five or 
six software packages in Just the last cou- 
ple of months. Each one was sold as a 
kind of game for the businessman and 
patterned after tho.se boring science fic- 


tion simulations where the player is the 
ruler of some planet with limited re- 
sources, trying to keep the population 
from getting killed off. 

I've seen them all and they’re all bor- 
ing. Attention vendors; we don’t need 
another business simulation program. 
Send them all to Japan. We need all the 
help we can get. 

Virus Hysteria Dept.: Remember the 
essay 1 wrote about computer viruses a 
few weeks ago? 1 may have been part of 
what appears to be some sort of virus 
mania. It really started to roll when the 
Associated Press did a flaky news story 
about a virus supposedly planted in an Is- 
raeli college and showing up every- 
where. Not to be outdone, UPl did a 
quick story saying its reporters discov- 
ered a virus amongst tbe Amiga crowd. 
Nobody was shown one line of virus 
code. 

Other Bad Trends Dept.: The hot 
gossip in Silicon Valley is about the re- 
cent purchase by AT&T of 1 5 percent of 
Sun Microsystems. Sun is working on 
what it internally calls a NeXT killer — a 
machine designed to compete head-on 
with the new Steve Jobs machine and the 
Macintosh II. If the new Sun machine is 
met with popular acceptance, AT&T is 
rumored to be willing to buy the rest of 
the company. 

Sun specializes in UNIX worksta- 
tions, something that AT&T (the devel- 
oper of UNIX) just can't seem to market. 
The company's la.st effort was the ill-fat- 
ed model 74(X). Meanwhile, the AT&T 
contract with Olivetti is up this year, 
and AT&T hopes to somehow use Sun as 
the maker of its next generation of desk- 
top PC clones. 

What this all means to me is that a lean 
and mean Sun Microsystems has let the 
camel of bureaucracy into its small tent. 
There are already rumors that AT&T pa- 
per-pushers are making "suggestions” 
to Sun about changing one thing or an- 
other. The end is near. 


PC MAGAZINE • MARCH2 9. 1988 
73 




APimro A HIGHER 



For sheer power in a 
personal computer, 
the magic number 
is 386. W if 
you’re looking for 
the best value in a 
80386- based system, the 
number is 1100. 

it would be tough to find a personal 
computer anywhere that delivers more 
speed, functionality or compatibility 


than the ACER 1100. 


its 32-bit, 16 MHz engine processes 
information two to three times fester 
than conventional l6-bit computers. But 
we didn’t just put a bigger engine in 


a box. We enhanced the entire system so 
the 1100 outperforms even the Compaq 
386. At less than two-thirds the price. 

First, we designed and built our own 
386 CPU board to improve reliability. 
Then we included zero-wait-state 
interleaved memory, RAM BIOS, high- 
performance starve devices and a host 
of other features. 

The result is one of the festest, most 
powerful personal computers you can 
buy. At a price that’s more than reason- 
able. Living proof that performance and 
affordability ate not mutually exclusive. 

If your job involves power-intensive 
applications, you're going to love the 
ACER 1100. It easily handles sophisticated 



POWER. 


CAD/CAE projects. Complex financial 
analysis. Not to mention scientific 
applications and high-level software 
dwelopmenlYou 
can aim use it as a 
high-end flleserver 
to enhance the 
performance of your 
network. 

And in case you 
think getting a system 
as revolutionary as 
this means losing 
your investment in PC 
applications, here's 
more good news. 



•caiar 

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M 

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The 1100 has six different speed modes 
(4.77, 6, 8, 10, 12, l6MHz). So it’s fully 
compatible with your other PC/XT/AT 
software and hardware. 
Which is very compatible 
with your bottom line. 

And to make sure 
your investment is fully 
protected, Acer backs the 
1100 with the strongest 
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TRW. 

So if you re looking 
for the ultimate in PC 


power and value, look into the ACER 
1100. You'll see that the price of success 
has never been more appealing. 

For the full story on all our products, 
or for the number of your nearest Acer 
sales representative, call (800) 5.48-1542. 
In California, call (800) 782-1155. 

Wfe’d like a chance to help you lower 
the price of success. 

ACER 

SHtcon VaHey • Du>f«ldorf • Tokyo • T«pe4 

AcerTechnologies Corporation 

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(408)922-0333 


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CIRCLE 177 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



THE GOLD STANDARD 



1 %y. 


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cwno txm tWCM li||4 

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1 

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V I K W P O ] N 1 S 

■ JIM SEYMOUR 


Os/2 APPUCATDNB 

PRICING: A GOUGE? 



Users are prepared to pay higher prices for OS/2 application packages. In return, they expect 
vendors to offer enhanced functionality, better performance, and increased support. 


N ow that OS/2 has arrived, we're 
discovering some messy side is- 
sues beyond the obvious "Do I 
need it?” Version 1.0. delivered by IBM 
in December and by other vendors over the 
first quarter, is mainly a product for pro- 
grammers. a chance to see if they under- 
stixxl what they were doing last year when 
they worked with Microsoft's $3,000 
OS/2 developer's kit. 

But IBM has also announced an Octo- 
ber delivery for OS/2. Version 1.1. with 
the Presentation Manager. Delivering Ver- 
sion 1 .0 earlier than promised has given 
IBM's projected dates newfound credibil- 
ity. so our attention moves now from 
"when” to "how” and "why.” 

One little surprise lurking in the woods 
for early adopters of OS/2 is likely to be 
higher prices for OS/2 versions of familiar 
software. 

Software publishers are hardly united on 
this, but in general they plan to charge 
more for those OS/2 versions than for cur- 
rent (and probably, succeeding) DOS ver- 
sions. 

They argue that OS/2 products represent 
a new cost category for them (true) and de- 
liver a new level of functionality (we 
hope). Thus they feel it's only fair to 
charge more for OS/2 products, and they 
feel we should be willing to pay more for 
them. 

I think they're right on both counts. 

But there's an argument the other way, 
too: It's a mistake to charge more for OS/2 
products, and if software vendors want to 
retard OS/2's adoption, they could hardly 
do better than to price-discriminate be- 


tween DOS and OS/2 versions — providing 
PC users with what economists call a 
"negative incentive" to move to OS/2. 

Let's look at both sides. And let's look 
at how 1,200 PC Magazine readers re- 
sponded to a poll on higher prices for OS/2 
application software. 

COST AND FUNCnONALITV The in- 

creased-costs argument is a fair one. The 
R&D expense to develop a new OS/2 
product is huge. "OS/2 isn't system soft- 
ware, it's a whole new culture." in the 
words of one programmer. 

Training programmers in OS/2, bring- 
ing DOS programs over to OS/2 in ways 
that exploit OS/2's strengths, and cooking 
up entirely new products native to OS/2 are 
all expensive undertakings. And they must 
be funded, remember, out of the revenue 
stream from DOS products — in other 
words, from what were once profits. That 
means developers are already taking a hit 



on earnings, reinvesting in hope of a larger 
return downstream. 

Logicians would tell us that's a "neces- 
sary but not sufficient” argument: tme as 
far as it goes, but by itself not persuasive. 

The increased functionality argument 
holds, too — but only to the extent that ven- 
dors really do deliver substantially en- 
hanced functionality in their OS/2 prod- 
ucts. Simple ports that bring DOS 
programs over to OS/2 but use only trivial- 
ly the resources of the new operating sys- 
tem don't justify higher prices. 

Certainly as OS/2 evolves — and makes 
more of its promise available to develop- 
ers — we should expect to see ever richer 
and more-functional versions of OS/2 ap- 
plications. But those early ports that sim- 
ply allow users to run current DOS pro- 
grams under OS/2 in native mode, rather 
than in the slower DOS "compatibility 
box” — what I've been calling “conve- 
nience releases” — shouldn't carry higher 
prices, either. 

What do you think about this? 

I recently put a poll on the PC Magazine 
Interactive Reader Service bulletin board, 
asking callers what they thought about 
higher prices for OS/2 application pack- 
ages. Almost 1 ,200 of you responded. 

More than 80 percent thought OS/2 ap- 
plications would cost more than DOS ap- 
plications. But 55 percent thought that was 
unrea.sonable. 

When asked by how much you thought 
prices would increase, 38 percent thought 
the inctea.se would be about 30 to 40 per- 
cent, 20 percent thought it would be 50 to 
60 percent, and 15 percent expected to see 


f 

i 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
77 




■ JIM SEYMOUR 


V I K W P O I N T S 


prices go up just 10 to 20 percent. One 
reader in 1 2 thought prices would double. 

What do you expect for those prices? 
About 60 percent of you mentioned ' ‘more 
functionality,” and 62 percent "higher 


performance” (multiple answers were al- 
lowed). More than 22 percent expected 
“more support.” About II percent — the 
cynics — thought there wouldn't be any 
changes, just higher prices. 


■ I support vendors’ plans 
for higher prices on OS/2 
products, as long as they 
put more value in the box. 


Readers also mentioned more user- 
friendliness in OS/2 applications, better 
follow-through on problems reported to 
vendors, better documentation and mon- 
ey-back guarantees. 

Vendors, are you listening? 

Your customers expect to be asked to 
pay more. A little more than half think 
that’s unfair, but fair or not, a solid major- 
ity expect those higher prices to deliver 
better performance and more features. 
And they expect you to provide better sup- 
port in every way, and to acknowledge the 
act of faith customers are making in buying 
your OS/2 products by guaranteeing their 
satisfaction. 

The importance of delivering more val- 
ue — and of treating customers well as they 
move into OS/2 — is underscored by the 
last question I asked readers: If your com- 
pany expects to phase in OS/2 within the 
next 12 months, when will it be? 

A solid 75 percent of readers responding 
said their companies wouldn't be changing 
(35 percent) or were still undecided (40 
percent). Those numbers aren’t surprising: 
few expect OS/2 to take off till we see 
those fust dazzling, OS/2-only applica- 
tions appear to drive that changeover. 

But those numbers define an awfully 
fragile market, one attentive to every nu- 
ance of vendors’ offerings and business 
practices. 

PC users expect to pay mote for OS/2, 
and in the main, they’re willing to ... if 
they get more value, and if vendors treat 
their OS/2 customers a lot better, across 
the board, than they have treated their 
DOS customers. 

As much as I hate paying more for any- 
thing, I support vendors’ plans for higher 
prices on their OS/2 products. But only as 
long as they put a lot more value in the 
box, too jIS 



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■ STEPHEN MANES 


In PRAISE OF 
MAIL C»I*R 



Mail-order vendors get no respect. So why do so many customers — corporate and individual 
alike— pr^er them to traditional “Jull-service” retailers? 


I t’s 5:00 P.M. Friday. I’m about to put 
the Tinishing touches on a major quasi- 
desktop-publishing project due drop- 
dead first thing Monday morning. I decide 
to run a test or three to find out if what I see 
at least vaguely resembles what I’ll get. As 
I turn on the printer, its toner light goes on 
and stays lit. 

Great. The printer is brand-new, so I 
have no idea what its warning really 
means. For all I know, it may be like my 
car’s low-fuel light, which glares at me a 
quarter-tank and a hundred miles before 
emptiness. But it might work like the fuel 
gauge in my first car, whose E meant 
“Emergency: downhill travel only.” 

Sure, I can try and squeeze the 500 
pages I need out of the toner I’ve got. But 
this isn’t some rough draft. This will be fi- 
nal “almost-typeset” copy for reproduc- 
tion. Snappy blacks are mandatory. Hav- 
ing the cartridge around is likely to 
maintain them and my sanity. 

SURE, WE HAVE IT The printer, Oki- 
data’s Laserline model, is a loaner. I have 
no idea who in the tri-state area stocks it, 
let alone its consumables. I can just imag- 
ine what’s likely to happen if I begin phon- 
ing computer stores: 

“A tuna partridge for an Okie skater’s 
razor clam? You’ll have to talk to one of 
our salespeople.” 

Then 10 minutes on hold, after which 
the whole thing’ll repeat with the sales- 
man . Then da capo al fine with the manag- 
er, who’ll tell me they don’t have it. 

Or he’ll tell me they do have it. I’ll 
spend an hour driving to the joint, finding a 


parking spot, and standing in line behind 
three customers waiting for the lone sales- 
man to figure out how to install Paradox, 
after which he’ll discover that although the 
cartridge is normally a slock item, it’s not 
on the shelves tonight. Should be in any 
day now. 

Coming through This is too horri- 
ble to contemplate. Fortunately, I remem- 
ber seeing a PC Connection ad for the 
printer. I dial an 800 number, and a courte- 
ous, knowledgeable voice tells me the car- 
tridges are in stock. I hesitate to ask — it’s 
now after 5:00 — but I do anyway: Can one 
be delivered by air express tomorrow, Sat- 
urday? 

Thirty seconds later I have my answer: 
For a $5 surcharge. Airborne will be at my 
door before the final credits roll on ”Pee- 
Wee’s Playhouse.” I give my credit card 
number and address; at 10:00 sharp tbe 
next morning, the Airborne guy hands me 



the carton. I've saved immeasurable grief 
and hassle, I know the cartridge didn’t cost 
me top dollar, and I didn’t even pay for the 
phone call. 

This isn’t the first time PC Connection 
has come through for me. A few years ago 
I desperately needed a fully populated 
AST RAMpage board first thing tomor- 
row, and they got it out with the same dis- 
patch and alacrity. Not UPS, however: Its 
New York Christmas Holiday interpreta- 
tion of “next-day delivery by 10:00” 
meant 10:00 P.M., and the delivery guy 
waltzed in at 9:30 at night. The PC Con- 
nection folks offered to hound UPS for a 
refund, and they did, even though it 
brought them not one cent — except in 
goodwill. I've heard similar stories and 
nary a word of criticism from dozens of 
other satisfied customers. Class is by no 
means absent in the mail-order business. 

In fact, the worst thing about mail order 
may well be the term itself, with its impli- 
cation that you might actually have to deal 
with the abysmal U.S. Postal Service. 
Typically the mails never get involved at 
all. The order goes by 800 number; pay- 
ment is arranged via credit card; a private 
express service delivers the goods. 

Mail order’s biggest failing is supposed 
to be its lack of the service and support that 
retailers and other close-to-the-customer 
sources claim they provide. Maybe. In my 
experience, the wonderful, well-trained, 
highly experienced folks in retail circles 
tend to serve huge-quantity corporate ac- 
counts that won’t stand for less. The bozos 
who mind the store for small-business and 
individual customers ate novices whose 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
83 


lUwtnuion: Rmdy Jones 


VIEWPOINTS 


■ STEPHEN MANES 


major training has been in how to sell 
whatever product comes with spiffs (a. k. a. 
“incentives,” a.k.a. “push money") this 
week. The better mail-order houses know 
their products at least as well as most retail- 


ers do — to the point of listing version num- 
bers and compatibility considerations in 
the ads. 

And mail order keeps retailers honest. 
Mail-order clones of standard cards — and 



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PC MAGAZINE 


MARCH2 9. 198 


machines priced with razor-thin mar- 
gins — help maintain a truly competitive 
market. Nationally published prices set an 
accessible standard, so buyers can readily 
determine ju.st how much they’re being 
asked to pay for all that service retailers 
supposedly provide. Will the $200-plus 
premium the retailer demands for that soft- 
ware package really be worth it? Probably 
not — which is why so much software flies 
UPS or Federal Express. 

For start-up companies with quirky 
products unlikely to survive in retail distri- 
bution , mail order is often the only answer. 
And mail order can often respond faster 
than retail. For many products, mail-order 
companies can ship large-quantity orders 
from their well-stocked warehouses while 
the retailer is still waiting for the goods to 
arrive. 

PITFALLS Like any business, mail or- 
der does have its bad eggs. The worst re- 
cent ca.se involved a slick operator who 
phonied up a credit rating to place ads in a 
bunch of computer magazines — not, we 
note proudly, this one. The ads offered in- 
dustry-standard hardware and software at 
unbelievable discounts. 

Those too-good-to-be-true prices were 
an instant tip-off that something was fishy. 
So was the rest: no 800 number, no credit 
cards accepted, cash up front required. De- 
livery? There wasn’t any. Hundreds of 
suckers discovered the whole thing was a 
scam. 

Of course, the business of that “ven- 
dor" and others like him wasn’t computers 
but fraud. Problems with real mail-order 
companies generally involve cash-flow 
crunches that occasionally end up in bank- 
ruptcies. Aside from getting personal rec- 
ommendations before choosing a vendor, 
the best way to avoid getting stuck is to pay 
via credit card. If the goods don’t show up, 
the issuer will reverse the charge. In most 
company-gone-sour situations, banks and 
suppi iers rather than dissatisfied customers 
end up holding the bag. 

Delivery delays are the other common 
complaint about mail-order houses — and 
retailers. Protect yourself by making sure 
the item you want is in stock; consider or- 
dering elsewhere if it isn’t. Few things in 
life are worth waiting for. Computer 
equipment is only rarely among them. SS 

8 


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I 


COVER STORY • NORA GEORGAS 



PLANES, TRAINS, 


& AUTOMOBILES: 

12 Portables for the Road 


ive years ago, portable computers were an exotic man- 
* ifestation of gadget mania-^e kind of thing you had 
to explain to people who saw you carrying one. 

_ No more. Use a laptop computer on most any air- 
I line flight and you won’t hear a peep from your seat- 
mates. Hike through any major airport and you’ll see back- 
lit NEC ads with only the company’s logo, a brief, 
untechnical slogan, and a picture of a NEC MultiSpeed nes- 
tled under a well-clad executive arm. Hop in a cab outside 
that airport, and on your ride into the city you’re likely to 
spot a giant billboard displaying Toshiba’s latest laptops. 
There’s no ad copy — just a big red Toshiba logo along the 


Today’s laptop 
and luggable computers 
have more speed, 
storage, and memory 
than ever. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
93 


UluMntion; Terry Wx 



■ PORTABLES 


lop of the board. Laptops have made it to 
the mainstream. 

What’s more, portable computers have 
reached the same stage of maturity and ac- 
ceptance as desktops did when the AT be- 
came commonplace. In fact, with one of 
the powerful new portables on your desk, 
you don’t really need an AT. ^veral de- 
velopments over the past year have 
brought portables and laptops a step closer 
to self-sufficiency. 

FAST TIMES One of the best recent in- 
novations in laptop technology is the ap- 
pearance of more 286- based and, more ex- 
citing, 386-based portables. 

Luggable 386s like the Compaq Porta- 
ble 386 and the Dolch-Pack 386 reviewed 
in this issue maintain desktop compatibil- 
ity by providing standard slots for add-in 
boards. The price you pay, in addition to 
the monetary punishment, is having to lug 
around a 20-pound-plus machine. But if 
you’re not hung up on slots, you have an 
alternative: the GRiDCa.se 1530 is built 
around a 12,5-MHz 80386 processor, but 
it’s no bigger than a Toshiba T3 1 00. 

The key to slimline 286 and 386 ma- 
chines is CMOS (complementary metal 
oxide semiconductor) chips that pack more 
power onto a smaller chip, cutting power 
consumption and making battery-operated 


OUR REVIEWERS 

John Dickinson is director of PC Labs. 
Nora Georgas is an associate editor of 
PC Magazine. 

BUi Machrone is editor-in-chief and 
publisher of PC Magazine. 

Jonathan Matzkin is a staff editor of 
PC Magazine. 

Greg Pastrick is an assistant managing 
editor of PC Magazine. 

Jim Seymour is a contributing editor 
of PC Magazine. 

Luisa Simone is an executive editor of 
PC Magazine. 

Paul Somerson is an executive editor 
of PC Magazine. 

Paul Stafford is assistant business 
manager of Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. 
Donald P, Willmott is an assistant edi- 
tor of PC Magazine. 


high-power machines possible. 

We're seeing faster clock rates, too. 
Compaq wins the speed test with its 20- 
MHz 386, but 9,54-MHz rates show up in 
several machines, and 8-MHz NEC V-20- 
and V-30-powered machines are all over 
the place. That means faster processing for 
all your applications. 

MEGA-MEMORY Portable computer 
manufacturers used to crow about their 
640K-standard machines, and for many 
users 640K is still adequate. But if it isn’t, 
take your pick from a dozen machines that 
offer memory expansion in megabyte-size 
chunks. Compaq allows up to lOMB in its 
386 and so does Dolch; GRiD provides 
roomfor8MBintheGRiDCase 1530. To- 
shiba adds RAM to its diminutive TI(X)0 
in the form of a battery-backed-up RAM 
card that slips into the machine and boosts 
its capacity from 512K to 1 .2MB, with no 
noticeable gain in the machine’s 6.3- 
pound weight. 

As for storage, early portables got by 
with floppy disk drives — after all, you 
weren’t supposed to need Lotus 1-2-3 on 
the road; you were going to save that work 
for the office. As laptops move in on desk- 
top territory, however, big disks are the or- 
der of the day. Ten- and 20MB hard disks 
are de rigucur on a serious laptop, and you 
can go higher if you want — up to lOOMB 
in the high-end machines. 

READABLE DISPLAYS The number of 
illegible laptop displays has become en- 
couragingly small over the last year. Cer- 
tain machines retain nonbacklit 
.screens — the Toshiba TIOOO for econo- 
my, the HP Portable Vectra CS for some 
unknown troglodytic reason — but the ma- 
jority of manufacturers have adopted one 
or another of the variations of backlit su- 
pertwist technology, resulting in brighter, 
clearer screens than ever. 

This crop of portables also heralds the 
arrival of EGA in the laptop world. The 
Kaypro 2000 Plus is the first laptop to offer 
an EGA-iesolution screen, and the result is 
promising. Sharper, denser characters that 
don't break up are a boon to people who’ve 
become accustomed to hi-res desktop 
monitors and groan at the spidery charac- 
ters on many laptop screens, Datavue’s an- 
nounced but unreleased Smoke 386 puts 


the same kind of EGA screen in a lunch- 
box-style luggable, and others are sure to 
follow. 

The high end of display technology re- 
mains gas plasma, as used by Compaq in 
its luggable and by Toshiba and GRiD in 
their deluxe laptops. The searing clarity of 

We’re still looking for 
a laptop with a fast processor, 
big disk, and great keyboard 
and screen in a package 
that weighs less than 10 pounds. 


amber characters on a jet-black back- 
ground is exemplified by the GRiDCase, 
whose blacker-than-black screen is a 
knockout for graphics and demos. But gas 
plasma takes its toll in power consump- 
tion, and though manufacturers say they’re 
reducing power drain with proprietary dis- 
play technology, gas plasma machines re- 
main either AC-bound, like the Sharp and 
Compaq, or fettered by dismally short bat- 
tery lives — under an hour for the GRiD- 
Case 1530. 

CONNECTIVITY A suboptimized dis- 
play isn’t the end of the world, however. 
Portable makers have gotten a lot better 
about allowing their machines to hook into 
the desktop environment. As a result, most 
laptops can power a CGA monitor, and 
many can drive EGAs, a good solution for 
easier personal viewing or group presenta- 
tions. With keyboard extenders, expan- 
sion chassis, mouse ports, and bountiful 
I/O at your disposal, you can turn a laptop 
machine into a desktop powerhouse. 

For now, most portables ate excluded 
from the world of networking, but GRiD 
has shown that things don’t have to be this 
way. With its 3270 emulation and Ethernet 
cartridges that slip into the back of its 
GRiDCase machines, you can bring your 
portable in from the cold, download field 
data into the network, pick up what you 
need from the server, and hit the trail 
again, ft’s a trend that will certainly gain 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
94 


Al $7,999, ihe Compaq Portable 386 isn’t for everyone, bta with a20-MHz 80386 processor, a 
40MB hard disk, I MB RAM ( expandable to 1 0MB), a gas plasma display, and a full IBM 
Enhanced-style keyboard, this machine has more muscle than the systems in most offices, let alone 
hotel rooms. Many options are available to enhance the system, including a 1 00MB hard disk 
priced at $4,299, 


popularity as LAN fever spreads through 
corporate America. 

Size sighs The trend toward smaller, 
lighter portables crawls along, but the edi- 
tors who participated in this round of re- 
views agree that most of the machines are 
still too big and too heavy. With its 40MB 
disk, 386 processor, and gas plasma 
screen, the GRilX^ase 1530 can get away 
with weighing 13 pounds, but we all agree 
that the 8088-based, LCD-equipped HP 
Portable Vectra can’t. The Toshiba TIOOO 
brings us closer to a competent bare-bones 
machine (see the accompanying sidebar 
“The (Juest for the ‘Least Computer’”), 
but we’re still looking for a laptop with a 
fast processor, big disk, and great key- 
board and screen in a package that weighs 
less than 10 pounds. 

We PC users are an unrelenting bunch; 
every breakthrough leaves us wanting 
mote. Maybe 5 years from now we’ll be 
complaining about “heavy” 5-pound por- 
tables that display only 64 colors. We sure 
hope so. — Nora Georgas 

COMPAQ COMPUTER CORP. 

Compaq Portable 386 

Say what you like about other portables. 
The company that put a handle on MS- 
DOS has been out front for so long that ev- 
erything else must be compared with its 
successes. And the Compaq Portable 386 
is clearly one of its successes. I’m getting 
tired of saying the next line, but I’ll say it 
again anyway, just for form: 

Never before has so much computing 
power been available in so small a portable 
package. 

No, it’s not the smallest. It’s not the 
lightest. And it certainly isn’t the cheapest. 
It’s just the best. “Best” is a lot coming 
from a guy who won’t carry an MS-DOS 
portable because they’re still too heavy. 
But if 1 go someplace to demonstrate some 
software, I don’t want another machine. 
Just this one. And if 1 need to plug in PC- 
compatible boards and use 5 'A-tnch floppy 
disks, I don’t want another machine. Just 
this one. 

You see. I’ve got my price, and my 
price is 20 MHz and 1 00MB . The Compaq 
Portable 386 dishes up performance that is 
bested only by its big brother, the Deskpro 


386/20. It even beats IBM’s Model 80. 
The Portable 386 began life as the Portable 
III with a 12-MHz 80286, when the stan- 
dard was still 8 MHz. When Compaq’s en- 
gineers put in an 80386, they skipped over 
16 MHz and went right to 20. 

In day-to-day use. the Portable 386 is 
pretty much a known quantity. All the 
latches, buttons, and movements that were 
so strange on the original Portable III ate 
now familiar, and they’ve stood the test of 
time well. The keyboard has gained two 
more function keys, for the full IBM-com- 
patible complement of 1 2. 

SOFT TOUCH The battle rages on 
about the touch of Compaq keyboards, 
with dyed-in-the-wool IBM fans sorely 
missing the over-center click. Others love 
to use the word mushy. When you Uy this 
keyboard, you find that it has a light, sure 


touch and you can type fast. I’m no fan of 
the new layout; I like the function keys at 
the side, not along the top. But that takes 
up space. Now that IBM has removed the 
iiKentive to have function keys at the side, 
we can pretty much look to keyboards like 
this as the future. 

The plasma screen, with its brilliant or- 
ange display, has improved somewhat 
over time, but it’s still limited by a relative 
inability to depict gray scales. 'The adjust- 
ment range is also narrow. Basically, you 
turn the control up all the way and ignore it 
from then on. The display’s saving grace is 
its 640- by 400-pixel, tack-sharp resolu- 
tion. Microsoft Windowsl386 looks great | 
because the driver turns colors into dot pat- | 
terns. The display size is large enough for | 
three or four people to work comfortably j 
around it, and there’s enough tilt in the f 
mechanism that glare is never a problem. | 



PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
95 




■ PORTABLES 



FACT 


FILE 


Compaq Portable 386 
Compaq Computer Corp. 

20555 FM 149 
Houston. TX 77070 
(800) 231-0900 

List Price; With one 5‘/4-inch floppy disk 
drive, 40MB hard disk. I MB RAM, $7,999; 
I MB RAM expansion kit. $599; 4MB RAM 
expansion card, 52,199; MS-DOS 3.2. $95. 
In Short: 20-MHz 80386 performance, a gas 
plasma screen, and fa.st4()- or lOOMB hard 
disks make the Portable 386 the most power- 
ful — and one of the most expensive — travel- 
ing machines available. 

CiPClf WIQNQEftDEBSEglVlCeCARg 


Compaq is a big enough force in the mar- 
ketplace that virtually any program you'd 
want to run in graphics mode has a driver 
for this screen. 

Plasma technology is OK at the mun- 
dane job of emulating the bright-and-dim 
monochrome monitor, but it's not suited to 
the current VGA/MCGA state of the art, 
with up to 64 shades of gray. That'll be an 
interesting hurdle for Compaq, since it 
prides itself on being more IBM-compad- 
blethan IBM. 

As with its 80286-based predecessor, 
the system bus is available via a small slid- 
ing door on the back of the machine. A 
$199 piggyback unit holds up to two 8- or 
16-bit expansion cards. You'll probably 
never need them. The machine has room 
for up to lOMB of on-board RAM, as well 
as a proprietary slot for Compaq's own 
2,400-bit-per-second Hayes-compatible 
modem. In addition to the serial and paral- 
lel ports, there's a port for a CGA-compat- 
ible color monitor. About the only things 
you 'd ever want to put in the piggyback are 
an EGA or VGA card or a connectivity 
board such as a 3270 adapter or LAN 
adapter. 

Compaq, has had one dominant theme 
ever since the first portable: it shouldn't be 
a hassle to use. And the Portable 386 is just 
that: no hassle. Programs work the way 
you expect them to work. The floppy disk 
is a 1.2MB SVi-incher, and the optional 
100MB hard disk is just plain amazing. 
With 100MB of sub-25-millisecond per- 
formance on tap, you can do just about any 


kind of computing you want. If you need 
what this machine's got, the price doesn't 
matter. — BUI Machrone 

DOLCH COMPUTER SYSTEMS 

Dolch-Pack 386 

In every high school class, there’s one 
hardworking, ordinary guy that nobody 
really notices. That is, no one notices him 
until he gets profiled in the pages of Wall 
Street Journal as the head of a Fortune 500 
conglomerate. On his quiet, steady way to 
the top, this guy would probably be using a 
machine like Dolch Computer Systems’ 
Dolch-Pack 386. 

The Dolch-Pack lacks the flashy repu- 
tation of some other “transportables,” like 
the industry-leading Compaq Portable 
386, but this machine delivers solid, near- 
state-of-the-art performance. And it does 
so for $1,500 less than a similarly 
equipped Compaq machine. 


The Dolch-Pack looks very much lUce 
Sharp’s “lunchbox” portables because it 
is contained in an identical case. Its dimen- 
sions (9.5 by 1 6 by 7.8 inches) are virtual- 
ly identical to those of the Compaq Porta- 
ble 386, and it weighs a pound or two more 
than the Compaq, depending on options. 

BLAZING SPEED Since the machine 
runs its 80386 processor at 20 MHz, the 
Dolch-Pack delivers the kind of blazing 
speed that power users want, both on the 
desktop and on the go. Our processor 
speed benchmark test clocked the machine 
at 1 .2 times the speed of a 16-MHz Com- 
paq Deskpto 386. Among the laptops and 
portables we tested, the Dolch-Pack came 
in a respectable second to the Compaq Por- 
table 386, and it solidly outperformed 
GRID Systems Corp.'s 12.5-MHz 386 
laptop, the GRiDCase 1530. It has muscle 
to spare for the next generation of power- 
hungry applications. One anomaly re- 



Even though the Dolch-Pack 386 isn ' t nearly so well known as the Compaq Portable 386, its 20- 
MHz performance— along with the potential $1,500 savings it represents over the Compaq 
machine — will attract buyers. The 23-pound Dolch-Pack has a ^Idit LCD screen and two 
standard-size expansion slots. Twenty- and 40MB hard disks are available. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
% 





FACT 


FILE 


IMch-l’ackm 
Dt)Ich Conipujer Svmcmiis 
20290 0’T(K)leAvc. 

San Jose.CA 95131 
1408)435-1881 

l.tsl Price: VS'iih one 5‘4-inch lloppv disk 
drive. 2MB RAM. S4.995. 

In Short: Withinit the fluNhy reputation of 
some other ■'transportables.” this pt)rtable 
nevertheless delivers solid, near-state-of-the- 
art perfomtance for less than a similarly 
equipped Compaq machine. It runs its 80386 
pn^cessiir at 20 MH/.. delivering the kind of 
speed that power users w ant . bt»ih on the 
desktop and on the go. 

CiftC-Lc myjH PLEADER SLRviOfc CAnu 


mains unexplained: the first evaluation 
unit we tested had a Phoenix BIOS, but a 
second machine's BIOS bore the Ameri- 
can Megatrends label. 

The 20MB hard disk supplied with both 
evaluation units showed an average access 
time of about 34 milliseconds when tested 
with our hard disk BIOS seek test. 

No one would seriously claim that the 
Dolch-Pack performs identically to the 
Compaq — you do get what you pay for, 
after all. The differences simply boil down 
to getting along without some of the luxu- 
ries Compaq devotees are accustomed to 
having. 

First of all. the Dolch-Pack doesn't 
have the brilliant orange gas-plasma 
screen that makes using the Compaq so 
easy on the eyes. Instead, it has a blue, 
backlit supertwist LCD of the kind typical- 
ly found on quality laptops. While it's not 
as crisp and bright as the Compaq’s plasma 
screen, the Dolch-Pack's display is emi- 
nently readable. A button on the front of 
the case frees the screen to pivot in and out 
for the best viewing angle (though the 
screen on our evalution unit had a slight, 
annoying tendency not to stay where I po- 
sitioned it). 

Like all LCD screens of this type, the 
Dolch-Pack’s display is best viewed head- 
on. As you move off-axis, the image be- 
comes very blurry, very fast. Simulta- 
neous viewing by more than two people is 
difficult at best and makes you yearn for 
that sharp Compaq display. 


FULL-SIZE SLOTS Of course, you can 
simply connect the Dolch-Pack to an out- 
board monitor, which brings us to one of 
the machine’s greatest strengths; it accepts 
full-size. PC-compatible expansion cards. 
So if you use it at multiple sites where 
monitors are available, you can tote your 
PC’s EGA card with you. For that matter, 
you can take along any other internal peri- 
pherals — modems, network cards, and so 
on — and save the expense of buying ver- 
sions of all these devices just for your por- 
table. 

In the configuration 1 tested, one slot 
was taken by a disk controller board, an- 
other was devoted to an EGA card, and a 
third contained a multifunction board. 
That left three slots (two 16-bil, full- 
length. and one 8-bit. full-length) to user 
discretion. 

The Dolch-Pack’s keyboard is some- 
what better than the average clone key- 
board. The keys have no positive “click” 
response, but they offer a tad more resis- 
tance than is found on other non-IBM 
boards. On the whole, 1 like the Dolch- 
Pack’s keyboard better than the much-ma- 
ligned Compaq’s, but that definitely isn’t 
saying much. One problem that could be 
easily corrected: the keyboard has a very 
short cord, which dictates that you sit very 
close to the machine. 

The Dolch-Pack 386 is an attractive 
choice for anyone who wants the fire- 
breathing power of a 20-MHz 80386 com- 
puter but who doesn’t have a budget big 
enough for Compaq’s Portable 386. Fully 
loaded with a 40MB hard disk, the Com- 
paq will set you back $7,999. A similarly 
configured Dolch-Pack is still far from in- 
expensive at $6,495, but the grand-and-a- 
half difference is nothing to sneeze at. 
— ^Jonathan Matzkin 

EPSON AMERICA INC. 

Epson Equity LT 

In 1987, major hardware makers felt com- 
pelled to market three types of products in 
order to prove themselves full-service 
companies: a laser printer, an 80386-based 
computer, and a laptop machine. Tandy 
did it; so did HP. Of course, Epson already 
had a laser (not exactly a well-behaved 
one, but a laser nonetheless), and the word 
is that you can expect an Epson 386 .some- 



F A C T 


FILE 


Epson t^uity LT 
Epson America Inc. 

2780LomiiaBlvd. 

Tomince.CA 90505 
(213)539-9140 

1 .1st Price: With two ni>ppy disk drives. 
fviOK RAM. SI .895; w ith 20MB hard disk, 
one floppy disk drive. S2.995; supenwist 
LCD. $300; backlit LCD. S5(K). 

In Short: As a UHal rnashinc. the liquity LT 
IS Wfinh less than the sum ol its p;ins. Ilic 
SI .895 price tag quickly jumps to S3.495 
when you add a backlit screen and hiird disk. 
UtRU£679 0NRi:ADLRScRViCE»:AftO 


time next year. Which leaves the Epson 
Equity LT, the laptop portion of Epson’s 
manifest destiny. 

Like many products created more as 
building blocks than cornerstones, the Ep- 
son is. well, suboptimized. It has some 
nice features, some annoying omissions, 
and a downright irritating Joe Isuzu mar- 
keting style. “Only $1,895," the bro- 
chures blare. What you need here is a sub- 
title that says “Without Display or Hard 
Disk." "Only 1 1 Pounds!" says the spec 
sheet. Flash that subtitle again: "Without 
Display or Hard Disk." Add these two 
components, and your $1,895. 1 1-pound 
machine becomes a $3,495 14.2-pounder. 
That’s hitting below the belt. 

A FRIGHT FOR SORE EYES Unless 
you’re the kind of person who talks to him- 
self on the subway and is controlled by cra- 
nially embedded radios from God, you’re 
going to need a screen on this thing. And 
unless you’re both stingy and unconcerned 
about your eyesight, you’re going to 
choose the $500 backlit display, not the 
$300 plain superiwisi LCD. Epson's liter- 
ature expountls endlessly on the merits of 
each display, claiming that the cheaper 
screen is belter for daylight, while the 
backlit is perfect for using the computer in 
"dimly lit hotel rooms." Hey, that’s not 
what people do in dimly lit hotel rooms. 

Compulsive types can buy both screens 
and switch them around; the display is 
mounted on thick metal tabs that slide into 
columns coming up from the chassis. 
Swapping screens is pretty simple, al- 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
97 



■ PORTABLES 



The Epson Equity LT is one of a group of laptops hovering around a $3,500 price that include 
backlit screens and 20MB hard disks. Equity LT buyers can save $200 by selecting the nonbacklit 
LCD. The screens are easily interchangeable . Included with the 14-pound machine is Traveling 
Software's Laplink data transfer software . 


though the early model we worked with is 
stiff and requires a little brute force to at- 
tach the display properly. The backlit 
screen is bright, clear, and, yes, good for 
dimly lit hotel rooms, planes, and similar 
surroundings. But its characters are pale 
and spidery, harder to read than those of 
the sharper NEC MultiSpeed HD or Zenith 
Z-183. 

Contrast and brightness controls on the 
front right panel of the display help a little. 
To save power, both screens shut off after 
2 minutes of inactivity; you reilluminate 
them by hitting any key. 

The 85-key keyboard is one of the nicer 
boards around. With ten function keys 
across the top, separate numeric keypad. 


raised ridges on the home row keys, and 
Scroll, NumLock, and CapsLock LED in- 
dicators, it sacrifices little in the way of full 
keyboard features. The feel is firm, and the 
keys ate not cramped like the com-on-the- 
cob keyboards of other laptops. 

The speedy NEC V-30 CMOS micro- 
processor is switch-selectable to run at 
4.77 or 10 MHz. The review unit came 
with a 20MB internal hard disk (OEMed 
from JVC) that worked just fine. A switch 
on the back of the machine lets you turn off 
the disk to save power. I don't know why 
you'd consider not getting the hard disk, 
but if you don't you can have the machine 
fitted with two 3 '/ 2 -inch microfloppy disk 
drives. 


A 1 ,200-bit-per-second modem is also 
optional — though again, with a laptop, a 
modem isn't really an option, is it? Epson 
also throws in PFStAccess when you buy 
the modem. 

Battery life is rated at 5 to 7 hours — we 


A 1,200-bit-per-second 
modem is one Epson Equity 
LT option— though with a 
laptop, a modem isn’t really 
an option, is it? Epson 
also throws in PFS: Access 
when you buy the modem. 


got it to mn for 1 hour and 4 1 minutes with 
heavy disk access. The screen and hard 
disk shutoff and the CMOS processor 
probably help. The AC adapter is light and 
not too big. A removable battery pack like 
the ones GRiD and Tandy provide would 
be nice. 

CHUNKY COMPANION So far, not 
bad. But let's get back to those numbers. 
Because this is where it's obvious that Ep- 
son is a general computer hardware maker, 
not a laptop computer maker. The machine 
is just too bulky to be a comfortable travel- 
ing companion, ft's unwieldy. Its sharp- 
edged metal handle cuts into your hand 
mercilessly. 

And those prices! lf$3,495ringsabell, 
it should — that's about what you'd pay for 
a Toshiba T3100. It's also about what 
you'd pay for a comparable NEC Multi- 
Speed HD or Zenith Z- 1 83 (and both have 
better displays). 

If you buy the single-source philosophy 
so popular with hardware makers these 
days, and if you're wedded to Epson be- 
cause of its Equity desktop line or for some 
astrologically advantageous reason, you 
can buy the Equity LT without fearing for 
your life (your knees, maybe, but not your 
life). Otherwise, walk on by. 

— Nora Georgas 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
98 




UP TO 
25 USERS 


MADE FOR 
THE 80386. 


RUNS DOS 
PROGRAMS 


MULTI-TASKING 


Imagine the siteed and power of a 
$100,000 minicomputer in a desktop PC cost- 
ing under $7,000. Now imagine all that power 
going to waste because the operating system 
you chose was never meant to take advan 
tage of a computer this powerful. It will 
take more than just a “window environ- 
ment" or an outdated operating system 
to unlock the 80386. 

It will take PC-MOS/386:" 

The First 80386 Operating 
System. Specifically designed for the 
80386 computer, PC-MOS/386''‘ opens 
doors. Doors to more memory and 
multi-tasking. Doors to thousands 
of DOS programs as well as upcom- 
ing 803^-specific software. It’s the 
l^teway to the latest technology..., and 
your networking future. 

Memory Management 
Without Boaixls. PC-MOS exploits 
the memory management capabilities 
built into the 80386. So, up to four 
GIGABYTES of memory are access- 
ible to multiple users and to future 
80386-specific applications requiring 
megabytes of memory. 

Multi-Tasking, Multi- 
User Support for One, Five or 
25 Users. PC-MOS/386™ allows 
up to 25 inexpensive terminals to be 
driven by a single 80386 machine. 

So the features of the 80386 can be 
utilized at every terminal. And it 
comes in three versions so you can 
upgrade your system as your com- 
pany grows.. .without having to 
learn new commands or install 
new hardware. 








Software Support for Thousands 
of DOS Programs. Although PC-MOS/3^™ 
totally replaces DOS, it doesn’t make you 
replace your favorite DOS programs. So you 
can run programs like Lotus 1-2-3, WordStar, 
dBASE III, and Wordftrfect on the 803^. 
Best of all, it uses familiar commands like 
DIR and COPY-so you’ll feel comfortable 
1 with our system. 

The Gateway to Endless 
Features. Distinctive characteristics 
like file/system security, remote access, 
I tile/record locking, and built-in color 

^ graphics support for EACH user set 

PC-MOS/386™ apart from all previous 
operating systems. 

Open the Doors to Your 
1^ Future TODAY! Call The ^ftware 

. Link TODAY for more information and 
the authorized dealer nearest you. 
PC-MOS/386™ comes in siiwle, five & 
25-user versions starting at $195. 

PC-IVIOS/386 

MODU1.AR OPERATING SYSTEM 

THE SOFTWARE UNK 

Dmelc«malUWU*-aMunn.inl(‘AO,WK»d 


3577 Parkway Lane, Atlanta. GA 30092 
Telex 4996147 SWLINK 
FAX 404/263-6474 


For ihe drakT nearcsf you. 

CALL: 800/451-LINK 
In Georgia: 404/448-LiNK 

OEM/lnfl Sales: 404/263-1006 
^ Resellers/VARs: 404/448-5465 

OEM/Dcakr Inquiries Imited 
THt tOFtWARI UNIUCAMADA CALL: 80(Vn87-ai5:< 


CIRCLE 394 ON READER SERVICE CARD 

TRADEMARK ACKNOWLEIKJE.MENTS. MuIiiLink*is a rrtfisirrrd trademark of The St^tware Link. PC-MOS/386r' MultiLink*Advanced. and LANLink" arc trademarks of The Software Link. 
Lo(u» 1-2-3, WordStar, dRASE lli. & WordB.’rfrct are trademarks of Lotus Devcl^mcnt Corp.. MicroFta Ashtunlkte, & WtxdFVrfect Corp., respectively Prices and technical speciftcaiions subject lochantte. 



■ PORTABLES 


DISPLAYS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY 



The Zenith Z I83's startling blue 6- by S-inch screen still outshines the 
rest of the backlit crowd. 


The Kaypro 2000 Plus is the only laptop with an EGA display. For 
sharp, dense characters and graphics, it can’t be beat. 



The saturated black background of the GRiDCase 1530' s gas plasma The Compaq Portable 386’ s gas plasma screen has less contrast than 

screen makes its amber text and graphics look razor-sharp. the GRiDCase I530’s screen and yields a dimmer image. 



Ah. compromise! The ToshibaTl000’s3‘/4‘ by ^A-inch screen 
produces squashed images — OK for text, but not great for graphics. 



The nonbacklit screen on the HP Portable Vectra CS's display 
stretches battery life but doesn ' t do much for eyestrain . 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
l()0 






we've JUST MADE THE BEST EVEN 

Peachtree Complete II: The Business Accounting System 


The success story 
of Peachtree Complete 
(now with over 200,000 
users) continues with ^ 
newest member of the 
; family, Pca<^trce 
Con^ilctc II. Much more than |ust 
an update. Complete n builds upon 
; comprehensive features that have 
made Peachtree the leader in small busi- 
ness accounting software for nearly ten 
years. We’ve added many exciting ikw fea- 
tures and designed state-of-the-art methods 
for usii^ the packs^es. The result — all ei^t 
modules are even more powerful and easy 
to use, yet still priced at just $199 — a 96% 
price reduction horn the ordinal t4,8Ck). 




Q^Windows and Pop-Up Menus. 
Conq)lete II Is designed for user conve- 
nience. Use the cuisor throughout the system 
to make easy “point-and-shoot” selections. 

If you can't remember a customer or 
account number while using a program, 
simply open a window and scroll throi^ 
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Select the information you’re locating for 
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Short-Cut Keys. We speed you from 
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Smart HELP. If you get stuck, the same 
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Complete U traps errors and gives a plain- 
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CS^Range Printing. Print all information 
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for restartir^ long reports or partial printing 
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Easiest Installation Ever. Enter your 
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n includes a separate Inst^tion Guide, 
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Ideal for Service Businesses. Enter 
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store pre-defined paragraphs of to 160 
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El^t Integrated Software Modules 

• General Ledger 

• Inventory 

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Cofiq>lete n includes eight software mod- 
ules that may be integrate or installed 
individually and may be distributed among 
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modules initi^y; add others later. 


COMPARE FEATURE FOR FEATURE 

Sy«cm-Wld« Features 
NEW IXrr 4S0 rvpons 

NEW I'nlintiteU number of cumpanks and cofttoUduhjn* 
NEW AutunuiK rncnu-dri>cn convmion of your rxbung 
Fnchtrec Su»lnn» Aitounting data Hln 
NEW Irtcmaed numeric capacitin to >999.999.999 99 
tn key areas 
Geoervl Lertgrr 

• Chan erf Account! indudn "6 summed and 
26.000 user-defined accounts 

NEW I to 13 user-defined fiscal periods 

• Repealing foumal entries 

NEW Financial statemeni comparisons may include 

rurrem period and year-to-daie with budget and/or 
prkir pe^od comparison 
NEW Reversing loumal enines 
Accounu Receltrable/Iovolclng 

• Open item or balattcr forward cxisinmers 
NEW I'p to M.400 customers 

• Supports partial payments 

NEW tJser-dermed terms codes and aging periods 
NEW Automatic transactions with monihly. bi-monihly. 

quarterly, semi-aimual. and annual frequency opubns 
Accounu Payable 

• lip to H.400 vendors 
NEW PartuI payments of invoices 

• Cash rrauirements forecasting by due dale 
NEW Cser denned bitli^ cycle on automatic invoices 

• Checks pnmed with unliiniied invoice listing on Mub 
NEW Ability to void and reprint checks 

Inventory 

• 'wppor 
costing tnrtbuC 

• (Ip to 19.500 inventory iietm ISKL’s) 

NEW Automatic prKC change on mutiiplc items by 
percent or amount 
Fiaed Aaaeta 

• Handles 13.000 assets and 13 methods of 
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NEW I'pdaied to handle current laa laws 
Job Com 

• Tracks ctMs and profiiabUity on a )oh-hy-M> 

• Compares estimated coMs with actual costs 
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Payroll 

• BultMn current year federal, state, city aisd 
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• Automaik payroll processing supporting hourty. 
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NEW New tax laws tncurpuraied into program 

• Processes up to 3.900 employees 
NEW Supporu Cafeteria Plan 

■ User modifiable tax tables with updates published 
regularly by Peachtree Software 
NEW Printed and magnetic media W-2s generated 
automatically 



z 


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When you purchase Peachtree Complete n 
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And, of course, Complnc n is backed by 
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Updated to take full advantage of the in- 
creased capabilities of Peachtree Complete 
II, PDQ II is priced at just 1199- Call today 
to order! 


Hardware SpedAcatlofu 

Requires POMS-DOS venion 2.0 or higher with 3a4K ot 
usabk raemory with a tninlmum 10 MB hard disk. For use 
with the IBM* PC. PC XT. PC AT. PenotaJ Systeni/ 2 TH 
and conipatiilcs. iVt" media optionally available. IBM is a 
registered tradansirk and Pcrsoful Sy9taii/2 is a tndemaxk 
of Inirmaiional Business Machines. Not copy proteaed. 

To Order by MaU, Send 1199 
Plus 912.50 Shipping and Handling tot 
<1n Georgia, add applicable sales tax.) 


Peachtree Software 

A Mtmbtr of the Intetligent Syfterms Pamify 

4355 Shackleford Rood, Dcpi.PCM, 
Norcross, GA 30093 


CIRCLE 358 ON READER SERVICE CARD 




■ PORTABLES 



The sleek GRiDCase 1530 is the most powerful laptop currently available, with an 80386 
processor running at l2JMHz. The magnesium case holds either a backlit supertwist LCD or a 
gas plasma screen, and harddisks from JO- to 40MB are available. The J3-poimd laptop is not for 
the weak of wallet: a configured system ctui cost up to $7,000. 


GRiD SYSTEMS CORP. 

GRiDCase 1530 

There are portables, there are 386 porta- 
bles, and there’s GRID Systems Corp.’s 
GRiDCase 1530. The first battery-operat- 
ed 386 laptop, the GRiDCase reigns over 
this year’s portable computer crop as one 
of the most-appealing, most-powerful lap- 
tops yet. 

The Compaq and others offer 386 pow- 
er to go, but they tether you to an AC plug, 
and they’d need to shed pounds and inches 
before they could be considered laptop ma- 
chines. Not so the GRiDCase. TTie 386- 
based 1530 weighs under 13 pounds (even 
with a 40MB hard disk installed); it runs on 
a rechargeable, removable battery and can 
be purchased with a dazzling gas-plasma 
screen. 

Our review unit was fitted with a 12.5- 
MHz 80386 processor, 40MB hard disk, 
and hi-res plasma display (there is also a 
transflective LCD screen and a 640 by 200 
plasma screen).This system represents the 
top of the line of GRID products, which 
span an impressive breadth of configura- 
tions and options. Not covered here, for 
example, is the newest version of the 
GRiDLite, which wasn’t ready for review 
but should be available by the time you 
read this. Since our last review of the 
GRiDLite (“Road Warriors: 1 1 Laptops 
Battle It Out,” PC Magazine, July 21, 
1987), GRID has improved the machine’s 
screen and battery life and added more 
storage options. 'There’s also the GRiD- 



GRiDCaselSM 

GRID Systems Coip. 

472IILakeviewBlvd. 

P.O.Box 5003 
Fremont, CA 94537 
(415)6564700 

List Price: With two 3V'2-inch floppy disk 
(bives,IMB RAM, $4,695. 

In Short: The GRiDCase I530isqiiitesiin- 
ply the most poweitiil laptop computer yet 
Its 386 power is a little slower dun that of the 
lunchhox 3866, but the 40MB hard disk is a 
topperfonnerand the plasma screen is beau- 
dfol. 

CinCiraTa Oft READER SEfOaCE CARD 


Case EXP, an 8()C86-based laptop with 
XT-compatible slots for expansion. And 
finally, there’s the GRiDCase line, con- 
sisting of the 1530 and its lO-MHz 80286 
twin, the GRiDCase 1520. 

As the first laptop maker (remember the 
Compass?), GRiD Systems established a 
reputation for providing mgged equipment 
for heavy on-the-road use. TTie GRi£X2ase 
line continues that tradition. Its matte- 
black magnesium-alloy chassis feels more 
solid than any laptop we’ve seen. The ma- 
chine has been "ruggedized” to withstand 
excruciating heat, cold, humidity, vibra- 
tion, and G forces. And this is more than 


macho hype: GRiD sells only direct, con- 
centrating on travel-intensive applications 
like sales, auditing, and field engineering. 

ATTENTION-GETTER The machine 
is at once rugged and elegant. Walk into a 
presentation with this under your arm — 
and you can, because though the GRiD- 
Case is deep, it is well balanced and com- 
fortable to cany — and watch the eyes wid- 
en. Unlike the gently sloping GRiDLite, 
the GRiDCase is an 1 1 Vz- by 15-inch rect- 
angle that’s less than 3 inches thick. When 
the deep screen flips up, obscuring the 
back of the machine, the machine looks 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
102 





Turn Your PC 
Into an Identical Twin 
With Carbon Copy Plus 



Carbon Copy Plus™-the industry standard in remote 
controi softwe-wiii have you seeing doubie. That's 
because Carbon Copy Plus easily lets two PCs 
simultaneously nan the same program over regular 
phone lines. 

Carbon Copy Plus will remotely operate mdst DOS 
compatible programs. So you can use a remote PC 
to run programs located on another PC without swap- 
ping diskettes or making two copies of the program. 
Or jointly update spreadsheets or review the same 
CAD diagram with branch offices or partners across 
the country. 


Now training is twice as easy 
Carbon Copy Plus is the next best thing to being there 
for training and product support, walk distant users 
through a problem, or give effective product dem- 
onstrations-without ever having to leave your office! 


Productivity on the double 

Besides offering advanced remote communications 
features, including remote printing, remote access to 
a local area network and remote session capture and 
playback. Carbon Copy Plus also offers all the popular 
features found in standard communications programs, 
such as file transfer, terminal emulation, scripting 
macros and more. 


Do a double take 

Carbon Copy Plus can increase your productivity and 
lower your training and support costs. Call us today 
and we’ll show you how to turn a remote PC into an 
identical twin. 




MERIDIAN TECHNOLOGY INC lllllllll 

7 Corporate Park Suite 100 Irvine. CA 92714 (714) 261-1199 


Carbon Copy Pkia » a trademark ol Mendtan lechnoiogy 



■ PORTABLES 


DIFFERENT STROKES FOR TRAVELING FOLKS 



The NEC MultiSpeed HD has a separate numeric keypad, large Enter 
key, and AT'StylefitncHon keys. 



Half-size function keys and an embedded numeric keypad are the price 
you have to pay for the true portability of the Toshiba T 1000. 



The sole weakness in a superb machine, the GRiDCase 1530 keyboard 
suffers from small keys and nonstandard key placement. 



The Epson Equity LT has fidl-size keys, a useful array of LED 
indicators, and speed switches under a flip-up panel. 



It looks a little odd. but the Kaypro 2000 Plus keyboard has a good feel 
and is detachable, though the cable is too short to be truly useful. 



The Sharp PC -722 1 has a full-size keyboard: there's no excuse for the 
size of its function keys or their illogical arrangement. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
l()4 


"Bill, "Em 

And"ferrific. 


And ready for the job. 

Your new ARC 386s “Skyscraper” 
computer is ready to go to wotk. As 
a personal workstation. As a high per- 
formance fileserver. At the heart of 
a multi-user network. 

Not only does the Skyscra- 
per deliver the powerhouse 
speed of the next generation 
386 processor, it offers 
you 2 megabytes of 80 
nanosecond RAM to 
boot. 

You’ll appreciate, too, 
the memory for OS/2 
operations. And it is 
upgradeable to 8 megabytes by 
simply replacing the modules. 

You won’t need to worry about 
drive compatibility, either. The 
Skyscraper comes with both a 3 .5” and 
a 5.25” floppy drive as standard 
equipment. 

And its oversized power supply 
will feed even the largest hard drive 
or optical storage device. 



Guaranteed compatibility 

We guarantee compatibility with 
all IBM MS-IXDS and OS/2 compati- 
ble applications software. And all 
IBM compatible third party memory, 
communications, and graphics 
boards*. Additionally, two Intel bus 
slots guarantee future compatibility 
with any 32 bit add-ons you find you 
need. Not even Compaq or AST can 
offer you that. 


•Must be ciMnpatible with AT bus and run at 
SMHtorhigher. 32 bit mcm(ir>’ must be SOnsor higher. 



Strong local support 

Our complete line of ARC pro- 
ducts is backed by a full network of 
ARC Authorized Resellers. Experts 
with specialized skills and the most 
comprehensive knowledge in the 
industry. 

Introducing ARCLan 

ARCLan is the easiest to install, 
easiest to operate local area network 
you can purchase. It works together 
with your existing investment — hard 
drives, workstations and any other 
MS-DOS compatible equipment you 
own. You can access up to 3 different 
printers simultaneously. ARCLan 
offers you true distributed computing 
and file level 1X3S compatibility. 


Sh.irc yxHir Sk>->crjpcr u&ing ARC'Lan or Novell. 



We’re ready. Now. 

For more information on the 
ARC 386s “Skyscraper” or any of 
our other fine products call us at: 
1-800-346-3272 

Tall and Tan isn’t hard to do. But 
Terrific — that’s ARC. 



Are you an interested reseller? 
Call us at 1-800-346-3272. 

IBM. Compaq. AST. Intel, MS-DOS. OS/2. Novell and AT 
ate traiJemarks of their respective companies 


American 

Raaearoh 

Corporation 


CIRCLE 166 ON READER SERVICE CARD 






■ PORTABLES 


even smaller and more compact. 

The gas plasma screen has a blacker 
background than others we’ve seen. The 
characters are dense and sharp, and the res- 
olution is great for graphics-intensive dem- 
os and presentations. 

Storage options are many and varied. 
The optimum configuration is one 40MB 

TheGRiDCase 1530 
gas plasma display’s characters 
are dense and sharp, 
and the resolution is great 
for graphics-intensive 
demos and presentations. 


hard drive and no floppy . A sleek black ex- 
ternal 3'/2-inch floppy disk drive is avail- 
able from GRID for $350. Or, if you insist, 
you can have a single 1 .4MB floppy and a 
lOMB hard disk, or a single floppy and a 
20MB hard disk, or two floppies, though 
Lord knows why you'd cripple this ma- 
chine by denying it a big hard disk. 

One of the GRiDCase’s unique features 
is its ability to integrate with LANs. With 
the 3270 emulation cartridge ($1,295) or 
the Ethernet cartridge ($695) slipped into 
the cartridge slot at the back of the GRiD- 
Case, you can hook into your company's 
LAN and the unit will behave just like any 
other node. (A further link to high-end 
desktop hardware is the GRiDCase’s $695 
VGA monitor interface, which allows the 
laptop to drive new graphics hardware.) 

The same cartridge slot is home to the 
rechargeable battery, which supplies about 
an hour and a half of power on the 40MB- 
hard-disk, gas-plasma-screen model, and 
possibly more on models with less strenu- 
ous power requirements. To run the ma- 
chine on AC power, you can either slide in 
the AC power pack and plug in directly to 
the AC source, or plug in the battery pack 
and use a slim cord to connect the machine 
and the AC pack, thus charging the battery 
as you work. On AC power the GRID runs 
rather hot — uncomfortably hot if it’s in 


your lap. But this is probably a nonissue, 
since if you’re tunning off A(i you’ll prob- 
ably have the machine on a desk or table 
anyway. 

If the GRiDCase has a flaw, it’s the 
keyboard. The 72-key layout includes full- 
size AT-style function keys across the top, 
but there’s no separate numeric keypad; 
CapsLock, NumLock, or ScrollLock LED 
indicators arc absent, and the Return key 
should be bigger. The tightly packed keys 
seem small, and the whole keyboard is 
flat, which looks great and complements 
the rest of the design but is hard to get used 
to. For a better typing angle, you can fold 
the handle down and use it to raise the back 
end of the machine. 

But GRID’S intended users — sales- 
people, accountants, and engineers — 
aren’t likely to need a keyboard optimized 
for touch typing. Still, the GRiDCase’s 
keyboard will have to be modified before 
the machine gains popularity in the main- 
stream laptop world dominated by To- 
shiba, NEC, and Zenith, all of whose 
products have full-size, desktop-style key- 
boards. 

BUILT FOR SPEED Hitting the Back- 
space key a lot is a small price to pay for 
running 386 applications in your lap, miles 
from any wall plug. Lotus 1-2-3 or your fa- 
vorite word processor flies across the 
screen, making it difficult to migrate back 
to a lowly deskbound AT. The standard 
I MB RAM gives you room for most de- 
manding programs, and you can boost 
memory in 2MB increments, up to SMB, 
The machine is also EMS compatible. 
And, as with previous GRiD models, there 
is support for user-installable ROMs 
(GRiD Systems will even bum in ROMs 
with your company’s customized soft- 
ware). Two ROM slots totaling 512K are 
hidden under a slim panel at the top of the 
keyboard. 

Powerful, beautiful, fast, and expand- 
able — this machine really has it all. Of 
course, none of these attributes comes 
cheap; you’ll pay over $7,0(X) for a fully 
loaded GRiDCase 1530. But it’s more 
powerful than the machine you have on 
your desk right now. In fact, with the 
GRiDCase 1530 under your arm, you 
might not even need a machine on your 
desk. — Nora Georgas 


HEWLETT-PACKARD 

HP Portable Vectra CS 

The 1 8-pound-plus HP Portable Vectra CS 
looks like a throwback to those halcyon 
days when women wore bouffants and 
giant Packards and Buicks ruled the 
roads — or to the days of the original Com- 
paq Portable, when 35 pounds seemed a 
small burden to bear in exchange for true 
PC power. 

Those days, of course, are long and 
thankfully gone, and those computers that 
still weigh us down also provide great 
power, as did the gas-guzzling cloudmo- 
biles of the fabulous forties and fifties. Ma- 
chines like the Compaq Portable 386 and 
the Dolch-Pack 386 weigh more than 20 
pounds, but their burdensome packages 
are tightly wrapped around wanton 16- 
MHz speed and crisp electroluminescent 
readability. The Vectra CS provides nei- 
ther the power of these beasts nor the sleek 
portability of econoboxes like Toshiba’s 
TIOOO. While up-to-date and sometimes 
innovative features dot its fact sheet, the 
CS is, in general, the most depressing kind 
of anachronism: the kind that reminds you 
that the good old days also contained their 
share of hardships . 


A DIM VIEW For instance, remember 
the difficult-to-read liquid-crystal display 
of the original Data Gener^ One? The 
HP’s screen will not line the pockets of 
nearly as many ophthalmologists as that 
myopia inducer did, but by today’s bright 
laptop standards, reading it is no pleasure. 



FACT 


FILE 


HP Portable Vectra CS 
Hewlett-Packard 
I'XWl Prunendgc Avc. 

Cupertino, CA 95014 
(800) 567^772 

List Price: With two 3'/2-inch Hoppy disk 
drives. 640K RAM. $2,495. 

In Short: The Portable Vectra CS is equiva- 
lent in price to other 20MB-hard-disk lap- 
tops. but it weighs up to 6 pounds more and is 
bigger by .several inches in every direction. 

Its design represents two giant steps back- 
ward. 

CI«CLE6770NR£AD£RS£RVICECARD 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
106 



Enable 2.0 
can do 

more for 
your 

business 
than the 
other 
five 

combined. 



"Enable may legitimatety daim 
to be the only package 
you'll ever needf 

Computer Buyer's Guide & Handboak 

Five major business tools. Word 
Processing, Spreadsheet, Graphics, 
Database Management and 
Telecommunications: ail in one 
full-featured, easy to learn, cost- 
effective package. With the 
ability to share data across 
applications that no group of 
stand-alones can match. And now, 
with newly-enhanced version 2.0, 
PC Week has named Enable "best 
integrated software package on 
the market." 

Its remarkable ability to handle a 
virtually unlimited range of tasks 
has already made Enable one of the 
leading software suppliers to the 
Federal Government and 
Corporations large and small. 


"If you are looking for 
one program to do it all, 
this IS the oner 

PC Magazine 

If you're stepping up to a Local 
Area Network, new Enable/LAN 
just came out on top in a com- 
parison with other integrated LANs 
in an InfoWorld report: "easier to 
learn and use ... the best integration 
. . . (Enable) simply feels right'.' 

Enable 2.0 and Enable/LAN. Every- 
thing you need to unify, simplify and 
strengthen the operation of your 
business. For now, and for the growth 
to come. 

For more information, plus the 
name of your nearest Enable dealer, 
just dial 1-800-634-3470. New York: 
1-)«X)-551-1004. Canada: 613-727-5040. 
Please ask for Department M. 


Consider Enable's $bV> versus iheir 
nearly $2500. How does ihal computed 



©1987 The Software Croup, Dept. M, Northway Ten Executive Park, Ballston Lake N.Y. 12019 


CIRCLE 363 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


■ PORTABLES 


IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT COUNT 



Removable, rechargeable batteries enhance 
the Toshiba TllOO's mobility and ease of use. 
Tested battery life was 2 hours and 7 minutes of 
operation. 



Like the HP Portable Vectra CS, the Kaypro 
2000 Plus includes a small battery-life gauge 
next to its power switch . 



Busy but useful, the Sharp PC -722 1’ s control 
panel puts all the necessary adjustments and 
indicators within easy reach. 



GRiDCase designers showed good sense in 
numbering the ports on the back of the 
GRiDCase 1530 and silk-screening a legend 
onto the handle. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 19 

m 



A clever LCD gauge above the HP Portable 
Vectra CS’s keyboard displays the percentage 
of battery power remaining . 



j a ;"j a '{ 'I "1 

24 3i 3. 6 ? 

Q W E 1 R T j Y . 


You can stuff up to SMB RAM into the handy 
slot above the GRiDCase 1530' s keyboard. 
User-installable ROM is an option too. 






The small business/personal 
a(xounting software for people 
who don’t want to be accountants. 



If you can write a check, 
you already know how 
to use Check Mate. 

The problem with most financial software 
is that they’re either so complicated you 
have to be an accountant to use them. Or 
so low in power, they're hardly worth the 
effort. Until now. 

Introducing Check Mate, the first 
full-featured, easy-to-use check register 
accounting system with power, speed and 
flexibility. Check Mate is as easy to use as 
your checkbook. Yet it's sophisticated 
enough to account for a growing 
business. 

it's never been so easy to balance 
your books. Prciject income and ex- 
penses. Determine interest and principal 
payments on a loan. Calculate your net 
worth. Plan an annual budget. Monitor 
monthly cash flow. Collect data for your 
CPA. Prepare tax records. Or write checks. 


Each time you write a check or 
make a deposit, your transaction can be 
assigned to as many tracking accounts 
as you need for income, expense, assets 
and liabilities. 

These tracking accounts provide 
the most flexible, expandable roster of 
reports you’ve ever seen. Check Mate 
even remembers recurring transactions 
for quick, easy entry. And context 
sensitive help is always just one 
keystroke away. 

At only $89.95, Check Mate 
outperforms accounting programs 
selling for hundreds of dollars more. 

You get more power. More speed, 

More flexibility. And more features. 


And Check Mate gives you one 
more thing. More time. Because after all, 
whether you're running a growing busi- 
ness or keeping track of your personal 
finances, you've got more important 
things to do than accounting. 

Check Mate from Viewpoint Soft- 
ware, Inc. We guarantee it will be the 
most valuable software you buy this 
year. Hy it for 30 days, if you’re not 
convinced it’s the fastest, easiest, most 
flexible accounting program you’ve 
even seen, return it for a refund. 


$8995 

Not Copy PnMeaed 


Features: Unlimited number 
of bank and budget accounts • 
Use as check register or double 
entry system • Prints checks on 
any form • 3 levels of password 
protection • Transactions stored 
by date and check number • 
Remembers recurring transac- 
tions • On-screen graphs • 15 
standard reports • Unlimited 
custom reports • Financial cal- 
culator • User defined screen 
colors • On-screen prompting • 
Ideal for small business or per- 
sonal use. 


Order Toll Free 1-800-654-5901 


For IBM and 'Ihae Compatibles, 256K Memory. 0052.0 or higher. Requires one DSDD noppydrive with harddisk 
or rwo DSDD floppy disk drives. IBM is a re^stered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. 


Check Mate 

You can't lose. TVy Check Mate for 30 
days. If you’re not convinced it's a wnnnei. ' 
return it within 30 days for 
full refund less shipping. 

□ Send me Check .Mate and 

lUtorial Disk fot just $89.95. 
plus $4.00 shipping. (Ibxas 
residents add tax.) 

□ Send me Check Mate Demo Disk 
for $4.00 to covef shipping. 

N.^ME 
ADDRESS- 
CITY- 
ZIP— 


□ Check-'Money Order □ Visa □ MasterCard 



Mall Order: Viewpoint Software, Inc.. 12101 Beechnut. 

Houston.TX 77072 (713) 495-6516 PM38A j 

Viewpoint Software, Inc. 

C 1988. ViewpoimSoftw’are. Inc. 


CIRCLE 744 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



■ PORTABLES 






: 1 

1 

11 


HHIIMi 


1 



The best word to describe the HP Portable Vectra CS is large . The clamshell-style laptop measures 
16'/2 by 14 inches and weighs over 18 pounds. Two microfloppy disk drives are standard: one can 
be replaced with a 20MB hard disk for an additional $1,100. The readability of the nonbacklit 
LCD screen was rated as fair, but the battery life— over 6'h hours— was the longest among all the 
laptops tested. 


The contrast isn't bad — as long as ambient 
lighting is perfect and you’re looking at 
text rather than graphics. 

In CGA mode, on-screen images wash 
out like bleached rags, while the flicker 
produces a sensation similar to being 
tossed on rough seas in a small vessel. No 
backlighting or electroluminescent option 
is available. Two saving graces: (I) you 
can continuously adjust the display's 
viewing angle so that if there is a decent 
light source, you should be able to reflect it 
adequately; (2) the screen is easily de- 
tached, and a CGA/EGA/MDA-compati- 


ble output protrudes from the machine’s 
tear. 

The keyboard smacks of refreshing mo- 
dernity. It is a full IBM-style layout with a 
pleasant if somewhat insubstantial feel. Its 
main problem is that the keys are polished 
too smoothly, making them slick to the 
touch. They are also angled too steeply for 
my Big Blue-influenced taste. 

The 12 function keys lie in a little 
hough that separates the number keys and 
the pop-up floppy drives, making them 
awkward to reach, especially in single- 
handed combination with the Ctrl and Alt 


keys. Spreadsheet users will be pleased by 
the separate numeric keypad. 

ABUNDANT POWER Our evaluation 
unit was a two-floppy model, instead of 
the more desirable 20-MB-hard-disk ver- 
sion (the Vectra CS 20). These are handy 
floppies, though; 1 .44MB 3'/2-inch drives 
that can also read and write 720K disks. 
Easy data storage is of supreme impor- 
tance on the road, and if you're not willing 
to pay the dollar or battery-drain price of a 
hard disk, these ate the floppies to have. 
Also useful are the two three-floppy-disk 
carriers that take up space along the right- 
hand side of the screen in the top half of the 
clamshell case. 

Battery power is abundant. HP claims a 
10-hour life for the lead-acid power plant 
inside the CS; while no two applications 
are the same, use and testing showed this 
to be a reasonable average estimate. It cer- 
tainly had the longest tested life of the nine 
battery-operated laptops in this roundup. 

The battery itself is easily removable 
and recharges overnight. And the neatest 
gizmo on the machine is the cute little 
LCD battery-life indicator that sits in its 
own 4- by 6-inch plastic wasteland above 
the numeric keypad. Not only does it tell 
you what percent of the battery's juice re- 
mains, it is also much more readable than 
the CS's output display. 

Under the hood lurk two 60-pin edge 
connectors, for adding on up to 6MB 
RAM past the CS’s standard 640K. Other 
expandability includes a choice of 1 ,200- 
or 2,400-bit-per-second modems. Annoy- 
ingly, you can get either the aforemen- 
tioned multiple-output display card or a 
parallel printer pxrrt — but not both togeth- 
er. Since this machine is more suited to the 
desktop than to the laptop (indeed, all three 
of its publicity photos show the unit in sed- 
entary repose), that kind of limitation 
makes you wonder whether Hewlett-Pack- 
ard truly had its corporate wits about it 
when designing this machine. 

MORE MYSTERIES Something else 
that falls into the category of “unfathom- 
able features” is the inscrutable on/off 
switch. I've wrestled with dozens of dif- 
ferent laptops and never had the slightest 
difficulty finding the switch that makes 
them go. Until this one. Upon first lugging 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
110 




The computer world is humming about two new Samsung Semiconductor & Telecom- 
munications (SST) brilliant performers — the S500 ahd S300, 

Fully AT compatible, the S500 is the right PC to turn your one-man show into a sym- 
phony. Easily switchable from 8 to 10 MHz, the S500 offers 8 expansion slots to support 
video displays, modems, expanded memory and more. A 1.2 MB 5 1/4" floppy disk 
drive comes standard and a hard disk can be added for ample memory capacity. 

It possesses superb talents such a small package, only 16" by 16". 

Fully XT compatible, the S300 runs at 4.77 or 8 MHz and is a powerful, yet economical 
alternative. It is ideal for use as a stand-alone system or for inclusion as a workstation 
in a local area network. 

Samsung Semiconductor & Telecommunications (SST) supports its already excellent 
reputation in the computer industry by offering you these excellent products and an attrac- 
tive warranty program to support them. 

New from Samsung. 
S500 and S300 thafre yours for a song. 

These products are solely distributed through Tech Data Corporation, wholesale distributor. 


CIRCLE 298 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


OS SAMSUNG 

•• Semiconductor & Telecommunications 

Corporat* Haadpuarttn: 7ttt Floor. Ankuh Insurartca Building. 87. l-ka. Ulciti-ro, Chung-ko, Seoul. Korea C PO Box 8233 

TiMephooe (011-822) 771-78 e*t 58l-5Telai Telecom K24377 Facsimile (011-822) 755-2550 

Sanu Clara Otllca; 2952 Bunker HHl Lane. Santa Clara. CA 95054. USA Talepnone (408) 434-5499 

New Jersey OHica: One Executive Drive. FOn Lee. NJ 07024. USA Telephone (201) 592 7900 

IBM and PC-XT/AT are registered Irademarka of Iniamaiional Business Machines Corporation. 



S 500 



S 300 






Picture Perfect 



1 

Start by manually 
entering data, or loading 
it automatically from a 
spreadsheet or database. 



4 

Add text and legends 
to complete the chart. 




5 

If you want, move the text 
and legends anywhere on 
the chart — interactively. 


fcacMCK m>*a.cxjf8 



3 

Choose from dozens of 
high-resolution typefaces 
for titles and footnotes. 


Computer Support Corporotion 

15926 Midway Road 
Dallas Texas 75244 
(214) 661-B960 

CIRCLE 239 ON READER SERVICE CARD 
Pictura Meet it i tridtniark of 
Conifwttf Support Corporation. 


It’s easy to make great charts 
when you have Picture Perfect. 

With Picture Perfect you just fill in the 
blanks to create presentation-quality pie, 
bar, line and combined bar/line charts. 

Picture Perfect automatically determines 
axis scales, length and height of bars, size 
of pie slices and space needed for text. Of 
course you can change any of the automatic 
selections to suit your specific requirements. 

The quality of a Picture Perfect chart is 
limit^ only ly the resolution of your 
printer, plotter or film recorder. 

So the next time you need to turn stacks of 
fects and figures into professional charts, 
turn to Picture Perfect. 










■ PORTABLES 


the CS across my threshold and opening it 
up, I found myself immersed in a futile 30- 
minute search, into which I enlisted my 
computer-naive roommate and her friend, 
for a way to power it up. Finally, I called 
my editor, who confided that she, too, had 
had the .same experience and had called a 
friendly HP dealer in order to make the 
damned thing work. We have to live with 
our .shame, but just .so that you are never 
similarly embarrassed, it's that little thing 
that looks just like the display's contrast 
slide in the groove to the right of the key- 
board. 

My biggest complaint about this ma- 
chine is that it fills no conceivable portable 
computer niche. Its size and weight make 
prolonged laptop use an endurance exer- 
cise, while its price/performance ratio 
makes it neither a low-cost nor a high- 
power option. Its pop-out handle is not 
thick or padded, and no shoulder-strap car- 
rying case is offered. The screen is unsuit- 
ed for the indifferent light conditions en- 
countered on the road, and its poor 
graphics make this a bad demonstra- 
tion/presentation machine. 

Only the sales figures will tell if the 
Portable Vectra CS is, as HP representa- 
tives insist their market research shows, 
what the portable market wants. My guess 
is that a few corporate buyers will be more 
lulled by the sirens of Hewlett-Packard's 
direct-sales force than by the superior fea- 
tures and portability of other machines. 
But who knows? Perhaps there is a market 
out there for a huge l6'/2- by 14- by 3'/2- 
inch, 19-pound, 7. 16-MHz portable with a 
decent keyboard and below-average dis- 
play. Maybe the nostalgia factor will kick 
in. Some of those old Packards are much in 
demand these days, and even bigger, older 
Duesenbergs regularly go for over a mil- 
lion bucks at auction. — Paul Stafford 

KAYPRO CORP. 

Kaypro 2000 Plus 

Those who remember Kaypro's first porta- 
ble computer will agree that the company's 
products are a little oflbeat. The Kaypro 
2000's royal blue metal housing was boxy, 
all sharp angles and comers, like a cross 
between an oscilloscope and a TV set. 
Nevertheless, it was a great machine for its 
time, and it started many PC users down 



The $2. 795 Kaypro 2000 Plus is one of two laptops in this group that come in a metal case. One 
result is extra ruggedness; another is bulk, almost 16 pounds’ worth. The unit measures 1 PA by 13 
inches. Starulard equipment includes two microfloppy disk drives. 768K RAM, a NEC 9-20 
processor, and EGA resolution — an unusual feature in a laptop. 


the portable computing road. 

Years later, we have the Kaypro 2000 
Plus, the direct descendant of Darth 
Vader's lunchbox. The body is still alumi- 
num, but the sewing machine-style case 
has given way to a clamshell design, and 
the screen incorporates advances in dis- 
play technology. So in some ways, at 
least, Kaypro has conformed. 

But the 2000 Plus has its share of 
quirks. One of the most inuiguing is its 
keyboard, a 1 2- by S-itKh metal-and-plas- 
tic affair that either snuggles into its com- 
partment and lies flush with the machine's 
control panel or detaches to go closer to the 
screen. Small, spindly legs resembling a 
lunar landing apparatus can be flipped 
down from the bottom of the keyboard to 
provide a tilted surface for typing. The 
mystery here is the 6-inch cord, which 


doesn t allow much room for movement. 
It's impossible, for example, to sit with the 


FACT FILE 


Kaypro 20<N) l*lus 
Kaypro CiHp 
533 Stevens Avc. 

Soluna Beach. CA 92075 
(8(KM4-KAYPR() 

List Price: With two 3*/7-inch disk drives. 
768K RAM. $2,795, 

In Short: This relatively mvfnlls traveling 
machine oJTers mvmwsense styling and a rea- 
sonable pnee. hut it is not without iLs quirks. 
Well-spaced keys, high screen n?s*>luiion. 
and a broad complement of software (includ- 
ing WitriLSiar 2()(Xh add to its appeal. 

URC4,£«7e ON ltAD£H SERVICE CARO 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
115 



■ PORTABLES 


LAPTOPS ON THE CUTTING EDGE 


I n order to keep its piece of a rapidly 
expanding but still relatively small 
market, a laptop manufacturer must con- 
stantly be prepared to update its current 
machines as well as inti^uce new ones 
that answer the many demands of laptop 
users. 

The first quarter of 1988 has seen a 
flurry of new laptops and laptop upgrades 
either announced or shipped. Here's a 
quick report on some of the machines not 
available in time for comprehensive eval- 
uation in this review. 

Amstrad has introduced a low-end, 
8086-based portable with a built-in 
2,4(X)-bil-per-second modem and a $999 
price tag. The PPC 640 has 640K RAM, 
a supertwist LCD screen, and one 3'/2- 
inch floppy disk drive. A dual-drive ver- 
sion sells for $1,099. Weighing in at 
1 1 % pounds, the PPC 640 also includes 
parallel and serial ports and DOS 3.3. It 
has a top clock speed of 8 MHz. The ma- 
chine is unusually wide and shallow and 
is carried with a handle located in the 
right side of the unit. The screen folds 
down into the back of the two-part, 
hinged machine, and the keyboard then 
folds over the top. Contact Amstrad Inc. 
at 1915 Westridge Dr., Irving, TX 
75038; (214)518-0668. 

Data General Corp. has announced a 
20MB hard disk and a bar code reader for 
its DG/One Model 2T laptop. The 20MB 
system will sell for $3,095, and the 
lOMB version has been reduced from 
$2,895 to $2,695. The bar code reader is 
priced at $735. Contact Data General at 
4400 Computer Dr., Westboro, MA 
01580; (617) 366-8911. 

Datavue has improved the Snap I + 1 
laptop by hiking its top processing speed 
to 9.54 MHz from 4.77 MHz. The 
speedier version, complete with 20MB 
hard disk, has a list price of $3,495. 
Slower Snaps are still available at slightly 
lower prices. 

Datavue has also announced the 
Smoke386, a 20-MHz, 80386-based 
portable that uses a unique square, black- 



The $6,499 Toshiba T5I00 is based on a 
powerful 16-MHz microprocessor. 



Remote Equipment’s Remote Spirit 286 is an 
18-pound AT-cIass laptop. 


on-white display with 640 by 480 resolu- 
tion. The lunchbox-style machine has 
several disk drive configurations, includ- 
ing a 40MB hard disk version with both 
3‘/2-inch and 5 !4-inch floppy disk drives. 
The l6'/2-pound machine will also have 
an optional expansion box that will ac- 
commodate two full-size XT or AT ex- 
pansion cards. Pricing has yet to be deter- 
mined. Contact Datavue at One Meca 
Way, Norcross, GA 30093; (404) 564- 
5555. 

NEC Information Systems has begun 
shipping the APC IV PowerMate Porta- 
ble, an 80286-based lunchbox machine 
with 640K RAM and a 20MB hard disk. 


The $3,995 unit, which runs at a top 
speed of 10 MHz, includes two available 
full-size, AT-style expansion slots and a 
backlit LCD screen that supports both 
CGA and EGA graphics resolution; other 
displays can be used via the built-in RGB 
interface. A 40MB hard disk version is 
also available. Contact NEC Information 
Systems Inc. at 1414 Massachusetts 
Ave., Boxborough, MA 01719; (617) 
264-8000. 

The newest laptop competitor from 
the Great White North is Montreal-based 
Ogivar Technologies’ System IV, an 
AC-only 80286-ba.scd laptop with 20MB 
hard disk and EGA-compatible gas plas- 
ma display. The $4,395 System IV, 
designed to compete with the $4,695 
Toshiba T3 100/20, has 640K RAM, a 
10-MHz top clock speed, and a full range 
of laptop options. Contact Ogivar Tech- 
nologies at 7200 Trans Canada High- 
way, Ville St. Laurent, Montreal, PQ, 
Canada H4T IA3; (514) 737-3340. 

Indiana-ba.sed Remote Equipment 
Corp. is offering the Remote Spirit 286, a 
12-MHz 80286-based laptop that in- 
cludes 640K RAM, a built-in dot matrix 
printer, and a 20MB hard disk. The 18- 
pound machine al.so features a backlit 
LCD and a lull-size 102-key keyboard. 
Pricing has yet to be determined. Contact 
Remote Equipment Corp. at 2502 Rixj- 
sevelt Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46218; 
(317)637-4448. 

Korean giant Samsung has brought 
out an entire line of laptops, the star of 
which is the S6IOO, a 16-MHz, 80386- 
based laptop with gas plasma display and 
an internal 20MB hard disk. Also stan- 
dard are 2MB RAM and parallel and seri- 
al ports. Its weight is approximately 1 1 
pounds. 

The S5I00 is a lO-MHz AT-compati- 
ble machine housed in the same box as 
the S6I00. Like its more powerful sib- 
ling, it includes a gas plasma display and 
a 20MB hard disk. I MB of RAM is stan- 
dard, and its weight is also 1 1 pounds. 

Neither the S6I(X) nor the S5IOO is 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
116 



battery powered, nor is the smaller 10- 
MHz S5000. This machine, which in- 
cludes I MB RAM and a 20MB hard 
disk, has a backlit supertwist LCD 
screen. Pricing for all three models has 
yet to be determined. Contact Samsung 
at 2952 Bunker Hill Lane, Santa Clara, 
CA 95054; (408) 988-2376. 

Toshiba America is adding power to 
the high end of its laptop line with the in- 
troduction of the T3200 and the T5100. 
The T3200, priced at $5,499, is built 
around a 12-MHz 80286 processor and 
comes standard with a 40MB hard disk. 
Similar in appearance to the T3 100, the 
T3200 has two internal expansion 
slots — one full-length 16-bit and one 
half-length 8-bit slot. 

The 15-pound T5100 is based on the 
16-MHz 80386 processor and comes 
standard with a 40MB hard disk and the 
same gas plasma screen as the T3100 
line. The $6,499 price also includes 
2MB RAM. Contact Toshiba America 
Inc. at 9740 Irvine Blvd., Irvine, CA 
927 1 8; (7 1 4) 380-3000. 

Victor Technologies’ VP286 is the 
first laptop to offer a 30MB internal hard 
disk as well as a 30MB removable hard 
disk. Ba.sed on a 10-MHz 80286 proces- 
sor, the 1 8-pound unit features the ADD- 
PAK, a self-contained half-height 3'/2- 
inch hard disk drive that slides into the 
side of the machine. Information stored 
or transferred onto the ADD-PAK can be 
easily moved to any Victor VPC desktop 
machine that shares the feature. Pricing 
has yet to be determined but may be be- 
low $3,000. Contact Victor Technol- 
ogies Inc. at 395 Phocnixville Pike, Mal- 
vern. PA 19355; (215) 251-2300. 

Finally, British high-technology guru 
extraordinaire Sir Clive Sinclair has been 
showing the I -pound 14-ounce Z88, a 
tiny Z80-CMOS-based unit with 32K 
RAM and a supertwist LCD screen with 
an 8-linc by 106-character field. The 
Z88, priced at $499, has an RS-232 port 
and runs on four AA batteries for up to 20 
hours. — ^Donald P. WUImott 


computer on a desk and the keyboard on 
your lap. 

The keyboard makes up for its oddness 
by providing a layout and feel that are as 
good as those of any boards we tested. The 
large keys are comfortably spaced and 
have good audible and tactile feedback. 
The black letters on white keys are espe- 
cially ea.sy to deal with in dim lighting 
where the gray keys on other machines 
force you to squint. 

There's no separate numeric keypad, 
and cursor movement keys are arranged in 
an inverted T formation instead of a cross. 
But the return key is large and L-shaped. 
and the insert and delete keys are ea.sy to 
find. Ten full-size function keys stretch 
across the top of the alpha keybo^. There 
are no LEDs to indicate NumLock, Scroll- 
Lock, and CapsLock or tell you which 
drive is in use. 

MORE UNIQUE FEATURES Kayprt) 
also veered away from the mainstream in 
its choice of display — again with mixed re- 
sults. As far as we know, the 2(X)0 Plus has 
perhaps the only EGA-compatible display 
in the portable market. (Datavue's 38^ 
based Smoke also has an EGA screen, but 
as of this writing the machine is still 
plagued with problems and is not yet ship- 
ping. ) The 2000 Plus uses a new Japanese 
cold cathode tube that prrxiuces clearer, 
less diffuse characters and draws less pow- 
er than conventional screens. 

In a well-lit room, the display is very 
bright but seems to lack contraist. Turn 
down the lights, and the screen becomes a 
gem. Regardless of the lighting, however, 
you notice the higher resolution immedi- 
ately. The characters are dense and .solid 
with none of the spidery, fragmented look 
you get on other portable LCD screens. 
The overall effect makes the display much 
easier on the eyes than even the brilliant 
backlit screens of the Zenith Z-183 and 
NEC MultiSpeed HD. 

The machine appears well constructed, 
although certain details, including the han- 
dle, are flimsy. Rubber pads on the bottom 
of the machine (and the power pack) pre- 
vent things from sliding around on desk- 
tops and other smooth surfaces, and a 
wide-ribbed band of rubber wrapped 
around the edges of the body acts as tx>th a 
bumper and a decorative element. Ports 


are cleverly concealed behind flip-up pan- 
els under the disk drives. A simple battery 
gauge sits between the power switch and 
the contrast control above the keylxiard. 

The Kaypro 2(X)0 Plus comes with an 
unusually broad complement of software. 
In addition to DOS 3.2 and GW-BASIC, 
you get WordStar 2000 and the Word- 
Finder thesaums. WordStar may not be 
your ideal in WP software, but at least 
Kayprx) is trying: this is the only machine 
reviewed here that’s bundled with a WP 
package. It’s also the only one that comes 
with a 1 ,200-bps modem as standard 
equipment. A fifth piece of software. Mir- 
ror II, is provided to run the mtxlem. 

The 20(X) Plus sports two 760K 3'/2- 
inch floppy disk drives, mounted on either 
side of the machine; no hard drive is avail- 
able. The NEC V-20 processtrr performed 
on a par with other portables using the 
same chip. 

This machine has a Spartan appeal. Its 
no-nonsen.se styling and reasonable price 
($2,795) should commend it to people 
who want a no-frills ttaveling machine that 
will get the job done with a minimum of 
fuss. — Nora Georgas 

NEC HOME ELECTRONICS 
(USA) INC. 

NEC MultiSpeed HD 

I admit it. Ever since 1 saw the first full- 
size, eye-popping, backlit shtK'ker of a 
screen on the Z-183, I’ve been a diehard 
Zenith fan. But NEC’s sizzling new laptop 
may just wean me away. 

The HD is a much-improved version of 
NEC’s earlier twin-diskette MultiSpeed, 
with a 20MB hard disk purring inside. It 
sports a bright new backlit screen that’s 
larger than most of the others that we’ve 
tested and is virtually as crisp and readable 
as the Zenith standard. And it packs a 
CMOS V-30 CPU blazing away at 9.54 
MHz, a 128K battery-backed static RAM- 
disk, and half a megabyte of forgettable 
pop-up firmware. 

But what really sets the MultiSpeed 
apart from the recent cn>p of kx)k-alikc 
laptops is its unparalleled 85-key key- 
board, with two columns of full-size func- 
tion keys in their proper place at the left 
edge of the machine and a dedicated num- 
ber/cursor pad in the upper-right-hand cor- 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
117 



■ PORTABLES 



Among the crowd of hard disk laptops for around $3,500, the 14-pound NEC MultiSpeed HD 
stands out for its excellent keyboard and legible backlit supertwist LCD screen. The MultiSpeed, 
which has a NEC V-30 processor running at a top speed of 9.54 MHz, includes a 20MB hard disk 
in its $3,695 price. Battery life with moderate disk access was logged at I hour 55 minutes. 


ner. Some of the keys on the older diskette 
version were too small or in the wrong lo- 
cation, but the HD answers every objec- 
tion. The F and J keys are scooped out to 
make your fingers feel at home. Bright red 
shift-state LEDs are impossible to ignore. 
The key action is better than average. 

My only cavil is that the keys are a little 
slippery and don’t give quite as much tac- 
tile fe^back as they should. But after 
fighting with the skimpy keyboards and bi- 
zarre layouts on most other systems, I 
found this one a genuine pleasure. 

NEC also fixed its screen-locking 
mechanism and redid the swoopy, toylike 
styling of the earlier diskette-based ver- 
sion. The new HD looks dense, solid (it 
should be, at over 14 pounds), and busi- 


nesslike. Two things that NEC didn’t re- 
pair, unfortunately, are the overly wobbly 
handle and the fanglike cover-locking 
flanges that seem destined to snap off, giv- 
en the abuse that most traveling machines 
take. NEC also neglected to cover the ports 
at the rear of the machine, which means 
that if you’re using the system on the road, 
they pick up grime from lots of exotic 
places. 

Extra baggage with every system 
you get 5 1 2K of ROM-based pop-ups that 
you’ll truly never use (a file manager com- 
plete with report writer, a notepad and 
spelling checker, outliner, communica- 
tions manager, dialer, and setup pro- 
gram — but still no calculator). The first 



BMPACT FILE 

NEC MultLSpevd HI) 

NKC Home tiectmnics (USA) Inc. 

1255 Michael Dr. 

WixxlDale.lL6()l9l 

(312)860-9500 

LisI l*rice: With one 3'4-inch lloppy disk 
drive. 20MB harddisk. f>40K RAM. $3,695. 
In Short: This is a sturdy 9.54-MH/ V-30- 
based hot axl with excellent styling and a 
keyboard that's head and shoulders above the 
a*st. Us largcr-than-usual backlit screen is as 
readable as they come. The overall unit is 
more compact than the Zenith Z- 183. with 
which itamipetes. 

CinCLLeTSONBti^EPrSEWCt: CARO 


thing virtually all buyers of portable com- 
puters do is copy their favorite desktop 
software into the road machine. They pur- 
chase laptops so they can take their famil- 
iar systems with them when they travel. 
Nobody wants to learn two different sets of 
programs that do essentially the same 
thing. 

The only really useful aspects of the 
HD’s Hrmware are a decent interface that 
turns the laptop into a remote disk drive for 
desktop data transfer, and a series of terse 
but tip-filled help screens that are handy 
for about the first 2 hours after you snap the 
thing on. And the setup program isn’t bad. 

Also standard are parallel, serial, RGB, 
and external floppy ports, a real-time 
clock, and 640k of RAM — I28K of 
which is static memory powered by a sepa- 
rate nickel cadmium battery that keeps the 
internal phone directory, clock/calendar, 
and hardware configuration alive and tick- 
ing, and can double as a nonvolatile RAM- 
disk. And. of course, there’s plenty of 
room for an optional 2,400-bit-per-second 
modem. 

As with most systems today, you can 
turn off just about everything under the 
hood to save power. A complex warning 
system alerts you when the batteries ebb, 
although the HD won’t mind if you acci- 
dentally shut the cover without first turning 
it off. One safety feature is welcome: since 
you ean freeze a foreground application 
unseen when you pop up one of the HD’s 
built-in firmware programs, if you try to 
shut the computer off while your original 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
118 





Introducing 
The Worksheet Utilities. 

For the muscie to master 
the toughest 1-2-3 tasks. 

Now it’s a cinch to become 
one of the mightiest 1 -2-3' users 
in spreadsheet history. Just get 
The Worksheet Utilities " from Funk Software. 

It's a powerhouse of productivity tools that'll 
turn the most laborious 1 -2-3 session into a day at 
the beach. And it’sagenuine 1-2-3 add-in.So it 
does what you want, when you want it, right 
from inside your 1 -2-3 session. 

Search and Repiace lets you swiftly 
search for one thing, and if you want, replace 
it with another- throughout your worksheet, 
or in ranges you specify. It's just like the famil- 
iar word processor feature, yet it searches for 
labels, values, functions, formulas, and cell 
references, too. 

Formula Editor gives you a sturdy leg 
up in the otherwise exhausting exercise of 
writing and testing your I -2-3 formulas - all 
from a display that shows you the whole 
formula, not just 80 characters. 

Pick (^functions from a pull-down menu 
that explains what each function does. Enter 
arguments with on-screen prompting for 
each argument. See syntax errors and 
unmatched parentheses highlighted as you 
edit. Execute formulas one step at a time 
for quick, painless debugging of your most 
monstrous, complex creations. 

Print Settings takes the guesswork out of print format- 
ting. See all your margins, headers, footers, and other options 
on a single display. Create different settings for different print 
jobs and call them up by name. 

Select any print sfyle you like from a library of setup strings 
customized for your printer. Forget complicated printer codes. 
Each setup string has a name, like “17 pitch" for your Epson, or 
"Landscape mode" for your LaserJet. 

File Manager gives you a powerful grip on the organiza- 
tion of all your worksheets and other files on your disk. 

Save and retrieve worksheets from a point-and-shoot menu 
that displays complete information about each file, including 


descriptions you assign. Catalog 
your files with key words like 
"budgets” or “forecasts," and 
get directories of just the files 
you want, sorted in any order 
you like. 

Peek at files without retrieving 
them. Archive them. Search them on 
disk for labels or range names. Copy, move, erase 
and write-protect them - one at a time, or many 
at once. And squash them down to size with a 
crushing file compression mode. 

Autosave is the full-time worksheet body- 
guard that protects against the perils of power 
failures or accidental worksheet trip-ups. Just 
pick a time interval, and it periodically saves 
your work in a backup file until you're ready to 
save it lor keeps. 

Get The Worksheet Utilities 
pulling for you today. 

Let The Worksheet Utilities help unleash 
your full 1-2-3 potential. Ask lor it at softikare 
dealers everywhere. Or order fTIJiyV 
direct from Funk Software 


with your check. Visa or 
MasterCard. 


WARE 


The Woifcsheet Utilities 

The Worksheet Utilities 

for just $99^5. 


Td order call 1-800-822-3865, Ext 115 

(617-497-6339 in HA) 

11^^ Requires 1*2-3 release 2. 


Funk Software, 222 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 

® 1 987 Funk Software. The Worksheet Utilities is a trademark of Funk Software. 


CIRCLE 323 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


■ PORTABLES 


application is still running, it will put up a 
struggle. 

Still, if you don't mind shouldering the 
load, this power-packed portable has ev- 
erything you’ll need to take your office 
with you. Its vivid, eminently readable 
screen, clean no-nonsense styling, jet-pro- 
pelled performance, and near-perfect key- 
board edge it to the top of the heavyweight 
class. — Paul Somerson 


SHARP ELECTRONICS CORP. 

Sharp PC-4521 

When I opened the lid on the Sharp PC- 
452 I , I had high expectations. Sharp Elec- 
tronics Corp. 's top-of-the-line laptop tuns 
at 7. 16 MHz and has an internal 20MB 
hard disk, an illuminated supertwisi LCD, 
and a full-featured keyboard. 

But the PC-452 1 proves that high ex- 
pectations all too often lead to disappoint- 
ment. The txld mix of high-performance 
features and uncomfortable design makes 
me feel that the engineers looked at the 
blueprints but never used the computer. 

Unlike those of many other laptop com- 
puters, the PC-452 1 's keyboard manages 
to provide real functionality by designing 
room for an oversized Enter key and a sep- 
arate, normal-sized numeric keypad. The 
layout pretty much matches that of a stan- 





The Sharp PC-4521 has many of the same components as other laptops (20MB harddisk, backlit 
supertwist LCD screen, 640K RAM), but for several hundred dollars less. Those features are all 
included in the $2 , 995 price, as is an 80C86 processor running at a top speed of 9.54 MHz . The 
case measures l2‘/4 by /i!4 inches. 




Sharp K’-4S21 

Sharp Elecmmics Corp. 

Sharp Playa 

Mahwah. NJ 07430 
(800) Bh-SHARP 

List Priit*: W'ith one 3'/2-inch disk 

drive. 20MB hanJdisk. 640K RAM. $2.99.‘S; 
serial interface card. $99. Model K'-450l 
with one 3‘/2*ir»ch floppy disk drive. 2.S6K 
RAM. S995;640K RAM upgrade. $177. 
Mtxlel PC’-4.S02 with two 3*/j-inch floppy 
desk drives. 640K RAM . $ 1 .795. 

In Short: The price lag alone demanils that 
anyone in the market for ptiriable perfor- 
mance check out the Sharp PC-452 1 . This 
lapiiTp computer doesn’t compromise on fea- 
tures. hut with stiff keyboard respi>nse and a 
Icss-ihan-opiimal screen, it dtics compromise 
on comfort. 



LinCL i. 67< UN HtAUEM GERVtCf CARD 







dard keyboard. And although the cursor 
control keys have moved down to the low- 
er-right-hand comer, they’re perfectly us- 
able. 

The trouble, as always, lies with the 
function keys. FI through FIO are ar- 
ranged in a double horizontal row along 
the upper-left portion of the keyboard pan- 
el. Maybe IBM can get away with this kind 
of inconsistency, but Sharp should certain- 
ly think twice before inconveniencing its 
customers. 

The keyboard’s tactile response is 
stiff — alter about 30 minutes of typing, my 
pinkies protested and went on strike. I also 
found it helpful to turn off the artificial 
key-click sounds; they seemed slightly out 
of sync with my keystrokes and caused a 
weird audio parallax effect. 

The keyboard has handy status lights 
for power on, low battery, and floppy- ver- 


sus hard-disk access. The low-battery light 
is accompanied by a discreet beep. There 
are no provisions for plugging in a full-size 
desktop keyboard, but if Sharp would only 
fix the position of the function keys and the 
key resistance, you wouldn’t need one. 

Monitor CONTROL if you intend to 
use this computer fw long periods of lime, 
you may want to consider plugging in a 
desktop monitor. The Sharp illuminated 
supertwist LCD promises easy viewing, 
but the contrast range is limited and espe- 
cially difficult to adjust in bright light. 

Sitting squarely in the average catego- 
ry, the PC-452 1’s display just isn’t good 
enough for desktop use. Luckily, the com- 
pany manufactures a controller card for ei- 
ther a color or a monochrome CRT. The 
proprietary card is available for $255. 

The display is CGA compatible and has 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
120 



Mik Software CQtidiiiies 
to Sideways. 


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•| il it I 

•1 1! P ' 

; ti fi 1 .llittt'll 

- It «! • IMitlHti 

ifiijS 

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Let Sideways take your printouts to new widths. 

Each day, more people turn to Sideways* for printouts of nearly 
everything that’s too wide for a printer. No wonder. 

Nothing's as fast or easy. And nothing makes great-looking one- 
piece printouts that go on this wide. So you get spreadsheets that 
really spread out. Pert charts that peer far into the future. All kinds 
of extra-wide printouts without staples, glue or tape. And the newest 
Sideways makes even shorter work of those wide 1-2-3* printouts. 

New Sideways version 32 runs right inside 1-2-3. 

Sideways now works as a full-fledged add-in to 1-2-3 release 2. As 
well as Symphony? So the instant you’re done aeating your spread- 
sheet, you’re ready to print with Sideways, roght from 
your Lotus session. Just select Sideways from your 
Lotus menu, highlight a range and print. 

Mix bold, underlined and italic type, all on the 
same page, ft-int through or skip over perforations. 
Add borders, change page size, adjust margins any 
way you like. And do it all from Sideways menus 
that look and act just like Lotus itself. 

Sideways leaves no text un-tumed. 

Spreadsheets, databases, word processors, project planners. 
Sideways is the right way to print with all your software. 

Choose from nine different typestyles from "minuscule" to 
"mammoth " Print bold, underlined or expanded-whatever your 
software can create. 

New Sideways Version 3.2 for the IBM* PC and all popular dot 
matrix printers, as well as the LaserJet Plus/Series II. Available at 
software dealers nationwide, or directly from Funk Software with 
your check. Visa or MasterCard. 

More than ever. Sideways is the only way to go. 

Special Upgrade Offerl FTJNK 

Just send us your current Sideways program disk T 

along with $20. We’ll send you new Sideways ver- Dl? 

sion 3.2 right away. vVAKll 

I 




1 





□ Please send me copies of new Sideways version 3.2 at $69.95 each. 

□ Please send me a Sideways version 3.2 upgrade kit for $20. 

My current Sideways program disk is enclos^. 

□ My check is enclosed. Charge my D Visa □ MasterCard 


Account humber _ 
Name 


_ Exp d»ie _ 


Addfws_ 
City 


To order call 1-800-822-3865, Ext. 115 

(617-497-6339 In MA) 

New Sideways version 32 works with all releases of 1-2-3 as wi‘!l as other software. Adckn 
I capability requires release 2 or Symphony. I 

Funk Software. 222 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 

© 1987 Funk Software. Sideways is a registered trademark of Funk Software. Inc. 


CIRCLE 318 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


H Portable Computers: Summary of Features 

(Products listed in ascending price order) 

le 



Toshiba T1000 

Epson Eguity LT 

Portable Vectra CS 

Kaypro 2000 Plus 

Sharp PC-4521 I 

AT A GLANCE 

$1,199 

$1,895 

$2,495 

$2,795 

$2,995 

Microprocessor 

80C88 

NECV-30 

NECV-30 

NECV-20 

NECV-30-compatible 

(4.77 MHz) 

(4.77/10 MHz) 

(4.77/7.16 MHz) 

(4.77/8 MHz) 

(4.77/7.16 MHz) 

Screen type 

Supertwist LCD 

Supertwist LC0.S300; 

Supertwist LCD 

Backlit 

Backlit 


badilit. SSOO 


supertwist LCD 

supertwist LCD 

WetflM(lbs.) 

6.31 

14.26 

18.34 

15.88 

12.77 

MEMORY 


Minimum RAM 

512K 

640K 

640K 

768K 

640K 

Maximum RAM 

1.2MB 

640K 

6MB 

768K 

1.6MB 

Supports LIM EMS 

• 

O 

• 

• 

• 

STORAGE 


Standard disk drives 

One 3’/>-inch 

Two 3’/J-ii»ch 

Two 3*/?*incn 

Two S'/^'inch 

One 3'>»*incn 


floppy disk drive 

floppy diskdrives 

floppy diskdrives 

floppy diskdrives 

(lopoy disk drive 

20MB bard disk 

Optional hard disks 

None 

20MB (S1.100) 

20MB(S1.100) 

None 

None 

Optional floppy disk drives 

External SVi-inch, 

None 

None 

External S'/i-inch. 

Exterrtal S'/t-incb. 

S499 



Sf45 

S499 

DIMENSIONS 



HeIgM (incins) 

2.0 

3.1 

3.5 

3.5 

3.0 

WIMi (inches) 

12.2 

13.6 

16.5 

11.6 

12.2 

Depth (inches) 

11.0 

12.2 

13.9 

13.0 

13.7 

“Lapahility*' 

E 

G 

P 

F 

F 

SCREEN 



Height (Inches) 

3.25 

4.5 

7.0 

5.75 

4,25 

Width (inches) 

9.75 

9.75 

9.5 

9.25 

9.0 

Resolution (pixels) 

640 X 200 

640 X 200 

640 X 400 

640 X 400 

640 X 200 

Readahitity 

F 

G 

F 

G 

J 

KEYBOARD 



Number of keys 

82 

85 

92 

77 

88 1 

Feel 

VG 

G 

G 

VG 

F ' 

Layout 

G 

VG 

E 

F 

G i 

POWER 



Battarytype 

Nickel cadmium 

Nickel cadmium 

Lead acid 

Nickel cadmium 

Lead acid 

Battary eharga time (hours) 

6 

7 

10 

B 

6 

Battery Ufa (hoars and minutes) 

2:02 

1:41 

6:41 

3:38 

2:10 

Romovable battery pack 

O 

O 

• 

• 

• 

12B/24BV power supply 

O 

• 

• 

• 

O 

Cor hattiry adapter 

S20 

S29 

None 

None 

$30 

I/O AND EXPANSION 


type of monitor port 

RGB 

RGB 

RGB, EGA, composite 

RGB. EGA. composite 

Optional RGB and 
composite. S25S 

Serial port 

• 

• 

• 

• 

O 

ParolM port 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Expansion slots svsilible 

None 

1 

3 

None 

1 

Expansion chassis available 

None 

None 

None 

None 

4 slots. $699 j 



Disk-based 

SideKick 

D0S3.2.Lap'»)4. 

utilities 

None 

DOS 3 2. WordStar. 
WordFinder. Mirror II 

DOS 3.2 

ROM-based 

DOS 2.11 

None 

None 

None 

None 


Math eoproeassor 

None 

None 

8087 

6087 

8087 

Modem 

1,200 bps ($399) 

1,200 bps ($299) 

1,200 bps (SOS). 

2,400 bps (6450) 

1.200 bps 
(included) 

1.200 bps (S399) 
including serial port 

Carrying can 

Included 

$49 

$145 

None 

$75 


Editor^ Choice •— O— No applicaWe: iunchbopt-style design E— Exceileni VG— Very Good G— Good F—Fw P— Poor 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
122 



















Compaq 

Toshiba T1200 

Zenith Z-183 

NECMultiSpeedHD 

Sharp PC-7221 

GRiDCasel530 

Dolch-Pack 386 

Portable 386 

$3,499 

$3,599 

$3,695 

$3,995 

$4,695 

$4,995 

$7,999 

socae 

eOC88 

NECV-30 

60266 

60386 

80366 

60366 

|4 77/9 54 MH21 

<4 77'BMH2) 

(4 77'9.54MH2) 

(66/10 MH:) 

(12.5 MHz) 

(20 MHZ) 

(20 MHz) 

Supertwist LCD 

Backlit 

Backlit 

Backlit 

Backlit 

Backlit 

Gas plasma 


supertwist LCD 

superlwist LCD 

superlwist LCD 

supertwist LCD 

super twist LCD 


10 97 

15.88 

14,34 

20.95 

12.89 

23.22 

21.23 


1MB 

640K 

640K 

640K 

1MB 

2MB 

1MB 

1MB 

640K 

640K 

1.6MB 

SMB 

10MB 

10MB 

• 

o 

o 

o 

• 

o 

• 


One 3*/!i*inch 

One 3'/7‘inch 

One 3'/?-inch 

One S’/k-tnch 

Two 3'/»-inch 

One S’/i-inch 

One SVx-inch 

floppy diskdrive. 

floppy disk drive. 

floppy disk drive. 

floppy disk drive. 

floppy disk drives 

floppy disk drive 

floppy disk drive. 

20MB hard disk 

20MB hard disk 

20MB hard disk 

20MB harddisk 



40 MB hard disk 

None 

None 

None 

None 

10MB ($775). 

20MB ($1,000). 

100MB ($4,299). 





20MB ($1,175). 

40MB ($1,695) 

40MB ($1,500) 

40MB tape backup ($999) 

Eiilernal5'/4-tnct). 

External SVx-irKfi. 

None 

None 

Various external 

None 

Second 5'/i'inch. 

S499 

S399 



drives available 


$225 


2.6 

3.25 

3.6 

9.5 

2,3 

9.5 

98 

12.2 

13.75 

13.7 

16 2 

11.5 

16.0 

16.0 

12.0 

13.25 

12.5 

6.2 

15.0 

7.8 

7.8 

V6 

F 

F 

N/A 

f 

N/A 

N'A 


4.25 

6 0 

5.0 

4 5 

5.75 

4.5 

5 5 

9.0 

80 

9 25 

9.75 

8,5 

9.75 

8.5 

640 X 200 

640 X 200 

640 X 200 

640 X 200 

640 X 400 

640 X 200 

640 X 400 

F 

E 

G 

G 

E 

VG 

E 


82 

78 

85 

102 

72 

101 

101 

VG 

VG 

VG 

G 

F 

G 

VG 

VG 

VG 

E 

VG 

P 

E 

E 


Nickel cadmium 

Nickel cadmium 

Nickel cadmium 

AC only 

Nickel cadmium 

AC only 

AC only 

8 

B 

8 

AC only 

4 

AC only 

AC only 

2:08 

3:30 

1:55 

AC only 

0:43 

AC only 

AC only 

• 

• 

• 

AC only 

• 

AC only 

AC only 

O 

• 

• 

O 

• 

• 

• 

S20 

$19 

$20 

AC only 

$25 

AC only 

AC only 


RGB. composite 

RGB. composite 

RGB 

RGB. monochrome 

RGB 

RGB 

RGB 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

o 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

1 

None 

None 

1 

None 

2 

None 

5 slots. $999 
(interlKe. $199) 

None 

None 

4 slots. $699 

5 slots. $999 

3 slots. $695 

2 slots. $199 


DOS 2. SideKKk 

MKfosonwimJowi. 

DOS 3.2 

DOS 3.2. GW-BASIC 

00S3.2. InteGRiO 

DOS 3.3 

None 


DOS 3 2 



environment, utilities 



None 

Monr/orfsetupand 

diagnostics) 

Pop-up utilities 

None 

Custom ROM packs 

None 

None 


8QC87 

8087 

None 

80287 

80387 

80287 or 80387 

80387 

1.200 bps (S399) 

1,200 bps ($399) 

1.200 bps ($399). 

t.ZOObps ($399) 

1.200 bps ($395). 

t.200 bps ($250). 

1.200 bps ($349). 



2.400 bps ($495) 

including serial port 

2.400 bps ($595) 

2,400 bpstcaMlor pncc) 

2.400 bps ($699) 

Included 

$59 

$99 

$65 

$60 

$150 

Nylon ($69). 
leather ($225) 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. I98« 
123 


Copyrighted material 



WYSE 


The Stan 




STANDARD 

COLUMNS 


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Seriio'i6diMnetcn.orniakeihe ~~~ 
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leschani diamcierai Prmuli fl 
<id. On the other hand. «)orr the W 
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bumanumbrrulfamm Hru.! 

irrr lo^hcr liam a land of 
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[wrjdit BKTrasiiijECfi one 

diameto-r lamnoi»utficienih' 




b 


Graphic images caplared by Hotshot Grab. 







XEROX 


The WY-700 Graphics Subsystem. 
In desktop publishing, PC users have set high 
standards for themselves. Among displays, 
their first choice is our WY-700 high resolution 
monitor and video board. It’s the t«st seller 
by a wide margin, for reasons that are plain to 
see. The WY-700’s sharp 1280 x 800 pixel 
resolution rivals subsystems costing twice its 
$905 price. No one else gives you nearly as 
many pixels per dollar. Md its 15" paper white 
screen presents two full, truly WYSIWYG 
pages in high resolution mode. 

It shodd come as no surprise that the 
leader in displays is also the leader in compat- 
ibility. The WY-700 now runs over 100 programs 
in high resolution mode. Including Xerox 
Ventura Publisher and Aldus PhgeMaker/PC, 
plus many other DTP applications. And if you 
do more than desktop publishing, the WY-700 
supports packages like Miaosoft Windows and 
Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, and AutoCAD. 

We’ve just bundled a Hotshot product 
Now the WY-700 comes bundled widi Hotshot 
Grab, from Symsoft. It enables you to capture 
and store any text or graphics screen and trans- 
port it to another file or DTP application. For 
example, with a few keystrokes you can load a 
CAD image into your DTP document. And 
Hotshot Grab, a $99 value, is ftee with the 
WY-700. Now. But not forever. 

SystemWyse'"adds even more. V^se is 
the only manufacturer who makes the monitor 
and video board in its DTP graphics subsystem 
as well as a selection of 286 and 386 based PCs 
to drive it. That gives you a system integrated 
with singular harmony. And supported by 
a singdar source. 

Find out why more PC users see desktop 
publishing our way. Call for more information. 

1-800-GETWYSE 

%se* is a registered trademark of Technology. SystemV^^ and WY-700 are trade- 

marks of V^iie Technology. Other tiademarks/owneis: Ventura PubUsber/Xerox; Aldus 
t^geMak«r/PC/Aklus; Hotshot Grab/Symsoft; Excel. Windows/Microoft; Lotus 
1-2- 3/ Lotus Development; AutoCAD/Autodesk. Screen text and graphics adapted from 
The Classical Orders Arrhilecturt, by Robert Chitham, Ruzotilnternatianal, NY. 

CIRCLE 734 ON READER SERVICE CARD 

WYSE 


We make it better, or we just don't make it 




■ PORTABLES 


i ry Benchmark Tfests: 
Portable Computers 

T he benchmark results for this group of 12 
portable PCs clearly show that when rt 
comes to portable power, you have a wide 
range of choices to ponder. The slowest pro- 
cessor times belong to the humble but won- 
derful Toshiba T 1000, which doesn't quite 
match the speeds of an XT. At the other end 
of the scale are the Compaq Portable 386 
and the Dolch-Pack 386— 20-MHz 80386- 
based machines that match today's best 
desktop performers (note the blii>dingly fast 
display test results for the Compaq Portable 
386). The GRiDCase 1530 is also a 386-based 
machine, but unlike the other two it is a lap- 
top and can be run (for a fairly short time) on 
batteries. Its top processing speed is just 
12.5 MHz; it may not match the AC-powered 
iurtchbox machines, but it remains the most 
powerful laptop yet designed. The rest of the 
machines fall into place with few surprises. 


The NOP benchmark test is destgrted to measure raw 
dock speed and memory access time while minimizir^ dif- 
lerences in rricroprocessors and the effect of memory 
caching. This test executes almost nothing but NOP ("No 
Operation'’) machine code instructiorts in a big 128K loop. 

The 8066 Inatructton MU benchmark test measures the 
time it takes to execute a selected series of processor- 
intensive tasks. The lest program uses 8066 instruction 
code. These insirucUons are a subset of the total processor 
irtstruction set. 

The Ploating-Peint Calculatloo bertchmark test meas- 
ures processor speed by looping through a series of float- 
ing-poinl catculatlons, indur^ mufliplication, division, 
expcxientiation. artd logarithmic and irigonorTtelric furtc- 
tlora. The benchmark program uses the floaling-poinl li- 
brary irtcfuded with Microsoft C Compiler 4.0. 

The Conventional Mem ory bertdvnark test allocates 
2S6K bytes of conventional memory and treats it as a series 
of 64-b^ records. Then. 16.384 random records are read 
into and wrtten from this ntemory. The result shown is the 
average of the read arxt write times. 

The DOS Disk Acceea benchmark tost measures the 
time it lakes to do a rsTNlom sector read usirtg DOS- DOS 
butlers are set at 3 and die interleave factor is left at the 
drlMk default setting. This tost adds OOSk overhead to the 
BIOS and hardware lirrtes. The test program performs the 
sector read 1,000 times within the DOS disk partition. The 
average resull is shown in milliseconds. 

The BIOS DIak Seek benchmuk lest measures the time 
K takes to do a random seek using the dtskk ROM BIOS. 
The test result includes minimal software orerhead and 
may rwt paraMol the manutacturerk claimed average access 
time. The test program performs 1,000 seeks. The average 
result is shown In mHfaocofkfai. 

The Direct to Scr een benchmark tosl measures the 
berKiwidth of the video adapter by writing dhectly to the 
dlaplay memory buffer. The test is performed in video mode 
3. The entire screen is updated using the assembly larv 
guags REP STOSW instruction wkh register CX equal to 
2000. This is dOTto 1.000 times, and the resuN shown is the 
total ofthe 1.000 trials. 

The VMeo BIOS Routine Without Scrollirtg benchmark 
tost measures the speed of the BIOS 'feletype roulirto with- 
out scroNng. The test is performed in video mode 3. The 
screen is cleared and 24 lines of 60 characters each (includ- 
ing a terminating carriage return and Itoe feed) are written 
to the display through the BIOS Teletype routine. This is 
done ton tknes.arrd the resuH shown is Ihetotal of the tan trials. 

The Video BIOS Routbte wHh ScroMitg benchmark 
tost measures the speed of the BIOS Teletype routine with 
ecroBing. The lest Is perfonned in video mode 3. The 


Performance Times 


Battery Lite 
(lir.: min.: sec.) 


ToshttwTIOOO 

2:02:34 

i.K*ypr»mOPIin 

3i38:l3 

ZMtHhZ-1S3 

3:30*.23 

Sharp PC-4S21 

2:09:36 

Sharp rC-7221 (10 MHz) 

N’A‘ 

Toshiba T1200 

2:07:49 

HP Portable Vectra CS 

6:40:34 

NEC Multispeed HD 

1:54:38 

Epson Equity LT 

1:40:32 

BMPCiirfBMHz) ^ 

f«A> 

GR)DCeee1530 

0:43:08 

Oolch-Pack 386 

N/A‘ 

Compeq Portable 386 

N/A* 


N'A*— Not applicable; AC power only. 



-'.o'y 

■S'-* 





screen Is cleared arid 240 lines of 60 characters each (in- 
cluding a termmatirrg carriage return and line feed) are 
written to toe display through toe BIOS Teletype routine. 
ARhough the first 24 lines writton to the dispi^ do not In- 
volve scrolling, all the remainitrg litres scroB toe display. 


PC MAGAZiNE a MARCH2 9. 1988 
126 


200 




Performance Times 

(Times given m seconds except where rvMed) 

NOP 

8086 

Instruction 

Mil 

Floating- 

Point 

Calculation 

Conventional 

Memory 

DOS Disk 
Access 
(milli- 
seconds) 

BIOS Disk 
Seek 
(milli- 
seconds) 

Direct to 
Screen 

Video BIOS 
Routine 
Without 
Scrolling 

Video BIOS 
Routine with 
Scrolling 

Toshiba T1000 

10.16 

32.68 

159.68 

11.91 

N/A’ 

N/A* 

8.52 

1065 

14.12 

Kaypro 2000 Plus 

979 

25.15 

133.42 

6.93 

N/A* 

N/A* 

6.76 

4.51 

7.63 

Zenith Z-1B3 

7.58 

22.63 

114.24 

8.01 

99.16 

75.30 

7.86 

3.52 

664 

Sharp PC-4521 

8.24 

19.77 

104.80 

2.76 

98-68 

N'A^ 

8.68 

16.26 

19.88 

Sharp PC^221 (10 MHz) 

3.46 

14.83 

29.23 

2.15 

N/A» 

24.00 

4.83 

7.03 

11.26 

Toshiba T1200 

3.74 

14.56 

57.96 

5.72 

96 93 

7498 

6.26 

5.44 

7.96 

HP Portable Vectra CS 

4.67 

13.35 

57.23 

3.97 

N/A’ 

N/A’ 

4.23 

8.68 

11 09 

NEC MuitlSpeed HD 

3.74 

12.57 

51.35 

3.80 

N/A» 

74.51 

3.29 

11.37 

12.91 

Epson Equity LT 

3.42 

10.09 

42.39 

2.98 

101.45 

76.59 

9.67 

4.66 

10.27 

IBM PC AT (8 MHz) 

4.17 

8.96 

35.60 

1.32 

42 54 

37.20 

4.90 

4.50 

7.60 

GRIDCase 1530 

2.70 

5.99 

20.60 

1.64 

32 05 

26.27 

4.83 

5.39 

7.41 

Oolch-Pack 386 

1.65 

3.46 

12.74 

0.60 

44 79 

34.30 

9.66 

2.58 

6.98 

Compaq Portable 386 

1.71 

3.41 

12.47 

1.15 

32 68 

28.03 

4.17 

1.43 

3.63 


N/A' — Mol apphcabie: no hard disk m unit. — Not applicable: lest could not be completed without errors 


C-’: ,iig 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
127 


jhled IT ■ • -ial 


■ PORTABLES 


the usual laptop aspect ratio of 2:28. Ex- 
pect pie charts to look like ellipses, not cir- 
cles. 

The processor is more than fast enough 
for standard applications like XyWrile and 
Lotus 1-2-3. To switch processor speed 
from the standard 7.16 MHz to slow 
mode, you hit a special key called Setup; a 
menu screen appears, and you can cursor 
through the various configuration choices. 
The menu is self-explanatory and contains 
some wonderful features. 

The Sharp PC4521 
competes on price and compromises 
not on performance 
but rather on comfort. 


The setup program allows you to con- 
trol things like the rate of cursor blink, the 
speed of the pnx:essor, and the video dis- 
play. It is also smart enough to know If you 
have installed any internal options. If a 
modem card is present, for instance, the 
screen will automatically display your 
choices for the communications parame- 
ters. Other options allow you to specify a 
time for the computer to turn itself on, or to 
power up in response to a ring if a modem 
card is installed. This kind of considerate 
design adds value to the PC-452 1 . 

The designers paid attention to battery 
conservation (an important issue for a lap- 
top) by disengaging the LCD's backlight- 
ing after 2, 5, or 10 minutes of nonuse. De- 
spite Sharp’s good intentions regarding 
battery conservation, I still got only an 
hour and 25 minutes of normal use before 
tbe low-battery alarm sounded. 

DISK, PORTS, AND BOARDS The PC 

Magazine benchmark tests describe the 
hard disk better than I can. Because it uses 
nonstandard BIOS calls, the PC-452 1’s 
hard disk was unable to perform our BIOS 
Disk Seek Test. Still, no problems occur 
with DOS calls. So on the DOS Disk Ac- 
cess, the PC-452 1’s disk proved to be 
comparable to that of an XT, with an aver- 
age result of 98.68 milliseconds. 


The PC-4521 comes equipped with 
both a parallel port and a port for an exter- 
nal 5 '/4-inch floppy disk drive, in addition. 
Sharp provides for optional expansion 
with proprietary 8-bit add-in cards. You 
can install an EMS card to increase RAM 
to 1.6MB, a CRT adapter card, a serial I/O 
card, or a 1 ,2(X)-bit-per-second tiKxiem 
card. 

I would not recommend installing the 
boards yourself. Luckily, I have recourse 
to the technical help at PC Labs, and I 
found that I needed it to get the computer 
apart and the modem in. Once installed, 
the internal modem worked just fine with 
MCI Mail at 1,200 bps. 

Tbere is some limitation imposed on 
the mix of boards you can install. The mo- 
dem card and the serial I/O card, for in- 
stance, are designed to occupy the same 
slot. That’s no problem because, in addi- 
tion to the phone jacks, the internal modem 
holds a serial port. But don’t think you can 
use the CRT adapter and the EMS card si- 
multaneously — because you can’t. Tbey 
fit into the same slot, too. 

LIGHTENING THE LOAD The PC- 

4521 pa.s.sed the true test of laptop size: it 
was comfortable resting on my knees. But 
at 1 3.7 inches, it may be a little deep for an 
airline tray. Tbe version reviewed here 
weighed 125/4 pounds — and if you want 
the performance of a hard disk and mo- 
dem, reconcile yourself to it. 

It’s possible to shave more than a pound 
from the weight by simply buying a differ- 
ent model. The PC-4502 drops the hard 
disk in favor of a second microfloppy 
drive, and it also drops the price from 
$2,995 to $1,795. 

And if you are willing to live with 256K 
RAM, only one drive, and no backlight- 
ing, you can purchase the PC-4501 in- 
stead. It lightens the load on your pocket- 
book, listing for only $995. 

Tbe Sharp PC-452 1 beats the price of 
similar machines like the Toshiba T1200, 
Zenith Z-183, and NEC MultiSpeed HD 
by anywhere from $5{X) to $700. 1 think of 
it as getting the hard disk for free. The PC- 
45(X) series laptops also come with MS- 
DOS 3.21 — a $100 value enhancement 
any way you slice it. 

In the final analysis, the PC452I com- 
petes on price and compromises not on 


performance but rather on comfort. With 
the proper modifications to the keyboard 
and the screen, the PC-4521 would be an 
easy laptop to buy. — Luisa SitnoiM 

SHARP ELECTRONICS CORP. 

Sharp PC-7221 

Up front 1 admit: I’ve become a laptop 
snob. I owe my snobbery to months of 
working with a Toshiba T3 10(V20. So here 
I sit writing on an nicely designed Sharp 
PC-722 1 that has all the features you could 
want — 286 processing, lO-MHz speed, a 
20MB hard disk, a 5'/4-inch floppy disk 
drive, a thoroughly readable tilting backlit 
screen, a keyboard with good touch and 
placement, and up to I MB of expanded 
memory — ^and the bottom-line question 
haunts me: Would I lay out $4,000 of my 
own money for this portable computer? 
For now I’m not telling. 

Wbat I will tell you is that Sharp has 
taken the leap from laptop to lunchbox (an 
affectionate term for luggable portables) 
and has come out with the PC-7221 . The 
PC-7221 is clearly a field piece — 20 
pounds of computer that fits somewhere 
between the category of small-footprint 
desktop AT and bigfoot portable. In terms 
of iLs computing power, it’s not quite up to 
the speed of the big guns of this issue’s 
portable shootout: the 386-based Compaq 
Portable 386, Doicb-Pack 386, and GRiD- 
Case 1530. But the PC-7221 matches or 
beats its closest rivals in features or size: 


FACT FILE 

Sharp Pt'-7221 
Sharp hicctronics Ctwp. 

Sharp Pla/a 
Maliwoli. NJ 07430 
(8(M)) BH-SHARP 

I.Lst Price: With one S'A-inch floppy di.sk 
drive. 20MB hard disk, WOK RAM. $3,995; 
serial interface card. $99; I MB RAM expan- 
sion. $499; fwintcr, $4W. 

In SImmI: A full-fealua*d AT-cIass portable 
with nice design features and a price that 
beats its 386 belters. Switch-selectable ckx:k 
speeds, exparxlable RAM, highly readable 
tilting l.CI), above-average kcyKiard. and 
expansion slot arc its strong selling points. 
CtftCU: 673 ON READER SfcHVICfc CAflO 



PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
128 





CMWiutiHs 






Pictures speak louder than words 
Especially when youVe talking about LANs 


T apestry® from Torus Systems is one of the most widely 
used LANs in large corporations and institutions in the 
U.S. and around the world. Why? Because it is powerful and 
easy to use. Tapestry uses icons (pictures) to seamlessly inte- 
grate the most advanced oflice facilities available on a LAN. 

Introducing Tapestry/8, only $795, ... 

Tapestry /8 is Torus’ new version of Tapestry for networks of 
8 stations or less. It has all of the features of regular Tapestry 
(with upgrade-capability, of course), and at under $100 per 
station it is perfect for the small company or department. 

... and the Torus Ethernet Plus adapter, 
only $395. 

The Torus Ethernet Plus adapter 
is the networking hardware of 
choice for your Tapestry net- 
work. It's an Ethernet standard 
adapter with data throughput 
among the highest in the industry. 



Tapestry runs faster on this board than on any other, 
including IBM® and 3Com® - at a much lower price. 
Together these products are the complete solution to 
your networking needs. Advanced electronic mail. 
File sharing. Printer sharing. The performance to 
run even data-intensive applications. And since 
Tapestry servers are not dedicated, all of your PCs 
are always available for productive use. 

Most importantly, each person in your office can 
understand and use the network’s resources. Easily. 
Simply. Because it’s all done with pictures. 

So before you purchase a LAN designed for com- 
puter experts, look into Tapestry/8 and the Torus 
Ethernet Plus adapter - powerful network products 
designed for the way an office really works. 

Tapestry. The fabric of office automation. 

For more information call 
Torus Systems, Inc. 

800-872-5335 (outside CA) 

415-594-9336 (in CA) 



Torus and Tapestry are registered trademarks oT Torus Systems Ltd. IBM and 3Cotn are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corp. and 3Com Corp. respectively. 

CIRCLE 141 ON READER SERVICE CARD 











■ PORTABLES 



The lunchbox-styte Sharp PC-7221 offers lO-MHz 80286 performance and a 20MB hard disk for 
$3,995 . The portable — as tail and wide as the Compaq Portable 386 or the Dotch-Pack 386 but an 
inch and a half less deep — weighs in at 21 pounds and is AC powered only. It also features a full 
IBM Enhanced-styie keyboard and a S'/t-inch floppy disk drive as standard equipmetu. 


the Epson Equity LT and the Hewlett- 
Packaid Portable Vectra CS (a.k.a. “The 
Suitcase"). 

Cased in dark gray plastic, the PC- 
722 1’s nicest features are those that you 
can see and touch. The controls and 
switches are all easily accessible on the 
face and backside of the unit. The screen 
controls are set in a panel to the right of the 
LCD. Slide controls adju.st contra.st and 
brightness, while an on/off switch toggles 
between standard and inverse video. A 
push bar labeled Tilt adjusts the screen an- 
gle, which has a 15-degiee range of mo- 
tion in S-degree increments. 

When you face the backside, the unit’s 
setup switches are inset at the top right of 
the unit above the male and female power 
connectors. Switches toggle among 6-, 8-, 
or lO-MHz clock speeds; CGA, mono- 
chrome, or (when a card is installed) EGA 
display modes; and built-in or external dis- 


plays in use. Speaker volume is adjusted 
with a slide control, always a big plus for 
me. The monitor, serial, and parallel 
ports, with plastic dust covets, are arrayed 
across the bottom of the back panel . 

The back panel has just enough screws 
to deter the curious, but not too many to 
impede easy entry. Open it up and you’re 
faced with the motherboard. In this case it 
was obviously a preproduction model, 
since there were hard-wired patches snak- 
ing across the board. 

Patches aside, the empty coprocessor 
socket and partially fdled additional RAM 
sockets, as well as the nickel cadmium bat- 
teries, have open access. The optional 
1 .200-bit-per-second modem plugs direct- 
ly into the motherboard. Remove a few 
more screws, and the motherboard itself 
can be easily lifted from its center-mount- 
ed plug. Getting to the disk drives is a bit 
more difficult, since they are enclosed in a 


protective aluminum inner case. 

Having a machine that can do double 
duty as a desktop and portable. Sharp 
wisely allowed room for an expansion slot 
accessed by removing the bottom panel on 
the unit. Adjustable mounts and a ribbon 
cable allow easy installation of a full- or 
half-card. A removable plate opens the 
plug for the expansion chassis. 

SOLID KEYBOARD Back to the front, 
the detachable 102-key keyboard locks 
into position over the face of the PC-722 1 . 
Take it off, and the keyboard connects to 
the unit by a 10-inch coiled cable with 
modular plugs. When not in use, the cable 
lies in a tray across the bottom of the LCD. 
The keyboard’s layout rates a "very 
good," and its solid feel is comparable to 
those of the Equity LT and the Portable 
Vectra. The 12 function keys, laid out in 
two tows at the upper left of the board, are 
a bit crowded but manageable once you get 
used to the spacing. In addition, the key- 
board has snap-down two-height adjust- 
ment pegs on the underside. 

Like its laptop cousins in the PC-45(X) 
series, the PC-7221 has an internal setup 
program hotkeyed by — you guessed 
it — the Setup key. The program confirms 
the PC-722 1’s configuration and allows 
additions and adjustments. This is one 
great feature, if only because it does away 
with a setup disk. 

With the exception of its performance 
on the PC Labs [30S Disk Access bench- 
mark test with a JVC hard disk, where er- 
rors were recorded, the PC-722 1’s pro- 
cessing and hard disk functioned better 
than I had expected. Though I felt both 
were somewhat sluggish before I tested 
them, the numbers proved me wrong. I ex- 
perienced no problems using the unit under 
both Lotus 1-2-3 and Xy Write III Plus. 

FIELD PIECE? A few paragraphs ago I 
called this Sharp a field piece. I employ 
this term for two reasons. The first applies 
specifically to its use — out in the field. 
Stripped to its 20-pound fighting weight, 
the Ffc-7221 is an AT-class machine with 
all the power of a desktop ready to crunch 
numbers, whip out memos, and write up 
reports wherever an electrical outlet is 
handy. 

The second reason applies to the exter- 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
1.10 



Create a 5^" 
Diskette that reads 
right on any drive. 

Pass it around. Never 
a compatibility problem 
system-to-system.New 2- 
piece protective packaging 
and error-free performance 
warranted for life accent the 
BASF commitment to tech- 
nological leadership and 
business solutions. Call 800- 
343-4600 for the name of 
your nearest supplier. 

The Spirit of Innovation. 


CIRCLE .'4" ON RE\DER SERMCF CARO 




■ PORTABLES 



Whal the Toshiba T 1000 lacks in power it more than makes up for in size and price. Measuring 
ITVsby II inches and weighing just &/2 pounds, the TIOOO can't be beat for portability. Included 
in the $1,199 price are one microfloppy disk drive andSIlK RAM. The 1 .200-bit-per-second 
internal modem, essential for on-the-road communications, is $399. 


nal hardware. Once you .saddle on the ex- 
tras, you’ll practically need a caisson to 
roll the PC-7221 into action. Its $499 at- 
tachable thermal printer, basically an Ep- 
son FX-80 model, clips on at the rear, ex- 
tending the depth approximately 3 inches. 
The bottom-mounted expansion chassis 
adds approximately b'/r inches to the unit’s 
height. Take the PC-7221 on the road fully 
loaded, and you’re lugging around nearly 
45 pounds of portable from office to air- 
port to hotel and back. 

Honestly, with all the built-in features 
and the fact that you can plug into any 
available printer (or monitor or personal 
computer, for that matter), it’s nice to 
know you can build a real battlewagon, but 
it’s not necessary. 

Given a choice. I’d go with an AT-cIass 
portable to take me into my on-the-road 
business campaigns any day. But person- 
ally? I want light artillery. Something I can 
use on my lap, on the fly, with batteries. 
Tbe Sharp PC-7221 has all that it takes, 
and it’s $ 1 ,000 to $4,000 cheaper than the 
386s, but for my taste in portability it’s 
about 10 pounds too heavy. 

— Greg Pastrick 

TOSHIBA AMERICA BSC. 

Toshiba TIOOO 

If you’re looking for portable 386 process- 
ing power, high-performance hard disks, 
and black-chrome sex appeal, you should 
pass right over the Toshiba TIOOO. But if 
you’re looking for the first real DOS laptop 
computer, you’ve come to just the right 
place. 

Call me a curmudgeon if you will, but 
throughout the shower of so-called DOS 
laptop computers that has rained down 
from every vendor from Bondwell to IBM , 
I’ve hung on to my Tandy 200 like Linus to 
his blanket. For my money, most of the 
10 - to 15-pound behemoths on the market 
are about as lap-able as the original Com- 
paq Portable (R.l.P.) was, and I’ve won- 
dered why traveling DOS addicts didn’t 
just slick with life-sized portables and 
desktop PCs in shipping cases. 

SMALL PACKAGE Toshiba’s liny 
TIOOO changes all that and — at a suggest- 
ed retail price of $1,199 — puts a whole 
new face on DOS laptop computing. It 


weighs all of 6‘/2 pounds, and, at 2 by 1 1 
by 1 2 !4 inches , it even fits inside a slimline 
briefcase, with room left over for a file 
folder or two. 

The TIOOO looks and feels like a 
.scaled-down Toshiba Tl 100. Indeed, its 
light weight seems to have come from the 
removal of some gear during the scaling- 
down process . The T 1 000 has but one 3 Vz- 
inch floppy disk drive and about half the 
battery you’ll find in the Tl 100. There’s 
an interaction here, because removing the 
second drive reduces the TlOOO’s power 
consumption as well as its weight. 

To compensate for the loss of a disk 
drive, Toshiba offers a nearly weight-free 
and power-free alternative in the form of 
an optional 768K battery-backed RAM 
card. The $549 option Toshiba calls the 
768 Card can be configured as a RAM- 
disk, LIM expanded memory, or a combi- 
nation of both. You can also use I28K of 
the 768 Card to bring the T lOOO’s standard 


5 1 2K RAM configuration up to 640K . 

You can live without the 768 Card, but 
you probably won’t want to, because it’s 
the key to keeping the TIOOO batteiy alive 
long enough to take a reasonably long air- 
plane trip while turning this 80C88- 



TodiibaTltMO 
Toshiba America Inc. 

Infonnation Systems Division 
9740 Irvine Blvd. 

Irvine, CA 927 1 8 
(800)457-7777 

List Prke: With one B'/r-inch floppy disk 
drive,3l2KRAM.$l,l99. 

In Short: Granted, it's not a lot of computer, 
but what it tacks in power it mote than makes 
up for in functionality and especially in porta- 
Mity. Six pounds never felt so tight. 
CtHCLEmONnEADERSEBVICECAnO 


PC MAGAZINE n MARCH2 9, 1988 
132 


THE QUEST FOR THE “LEAST COMPUTER” 


W hat's the worst PC you're willing 
to put up with? 

That wasn't how 1 would have pul it. 
but the guy had a point. I'd been looking 
for montbs for what I'd been calling a 
Lea.st Computer for traveling. In other 
words, the lightest, smallest, cheapest 
personal computer 1 could And that still 
met my minimum requirements — and 
stood up to life on the road. 

The guy next to me on the red-eye 
from San Francisco had noticed the lap- 
top I was using, asked some que.stion.s 
about it, and suffered through the story of 
my quest for the Least Computer. 

■ ‘Sounds to me like what you're really 
looking for is the worst computer you're 
willing to put up with.” he said, going 
back to his Tom Clancy paperback. 

And he was right. 

I'd auditioned a lot of lap-poitables 
for the role. I'm used to the fast, power- 
ful PCs in my office — Compaq and PC's 
Limited A'T clones, with a Deskpro 
386/20 for most of my own work — and 
am about as bad a computer-speed junkie 
as the next power user. And I rely heavily 
on a fast Toshiba T3 1 00/20 as a traveling 
machine . . . when I know I'm going to 
be doing Serious Computing on the road. 

The T3 100 was a marvel when it was 
introduced almost 2 years ago — and it re- 
mains a marvel today: an 8-MHz. hard 
disk AT clone I can .stuff (if barely) into 
an attache case. But it weighs 15 pounds, 
which means I've gotta really want to 
compute on the road to carry it. And be- 
cause it's an AC-only machine, 1 can't 
use it on airplanes and at other limes 
when I'm not near an AC outlet. 

It gradually dawned on me that often I 
don't need to do such heavy-duty com- 
puting when I'm traveling. What I really 
need on about 75 percent of my trips is a 
simple MS-DOS machine capable of 
running my favorite word processor, 
comm program, and, of course, 1-2-3 
(for mini-expense-account worksheets I 
can /File Combine into the annual ex- 
pense-tracking worksheets I maintain on 
my desktop PC). 



Htnh of llu'.ie Toshiba laptops, the T ttXX) anti 
thf T12(X). arc remarkably stmill. 


For which the T31(X) is ridiculous 
overkill. 

For years I'd carried my old faithful 
Tandy Model 100 on business trips. So 
when I finally tumbled to the fact that I 
didn't need AT-class computing fire- 
power on these trips. I tried going back to 
the Model 100. 

I learned Tom Wolfe (the original 
one. not the dandy in the white suit) was 
right: I couldn't go home again. I was too 
accustomed to the speed and conve- 
nience of my favorite DOS programs. 
1,200-bps modems, and 720K 3'/2-inch 
disks. 

1 needed DOS-uvgo. 

So 1 tried lap-PC after lap-PC. 1 found 
several 1 liked, especially the GRiDLite 
and Zenith's Z-I8I and -183. But they 
were too close to the T3100 in size and 
weight: for their slight advantages in both 
areas. I'd just as soon carry the 
T3I0O . . . though that meant 1 was .still 
tied to AC power. 

Then 1 discovered the little Toshiba 
TIOOO. At 6'/2 pounds including battery, 
and small enough to stuff between the 
shirts and socks in my carry-on bag. it 
looked like a winner. 

I've put about 60, (XX) miles on my 
TIOOO now. It's suffered almost every 
indignity, from being dropped several 
feet onto hard floors, to having wine 
spilled into it by nearsighted steward- 
e.sses and half-drunken seatmates, to get- 
ting disks stuck backwards into its single 
3 '/2-inch drive by an owner who may 
himself have hit the Bailey's a bit hard 


while cruising at 35,000 feet. 

It still works like a charm. 

I can seize random moments on the 
ground as well as those lost hours be- 
tween the SFOs and LG As and DFWs of 
the world to work on columns, memos, 
letters, and book fragments. On the 
ground I plug the TlOOO's optional-but- 
essential internal 1 ,2(X}-bps modem into 
phone lines to stay in touch with the of- 
fice and clients through MCI Mail. And 
when I get home, my expenses are al- 
ready neatly logged in a 1-2-3 spread- 
sheet. 

The TKXK) is hardly perfect. By con- 
trast with the 286 and 386 machines I'm 
used to, its 4.77-MHz 8088 is painfully 
slow. The keyboard is rattly, and key- 
travel is too short. The display uses ugly 
little characters that sit on top of one an- 
other, and the supertwi.st LCD screen 
needs to be backlit. The internal modem 
has just one jack — for a cord to the 
wall — so I have to carry (and frequently 
lose) a .separate T-adapter if 1 al.so want a 
telephone plugged into that line. 

1 want access to the TlOOO's internal 
battery, so I could swap it with a second, 
charged cell when my (light is longer 
than the 4-hour life of that battery — or 
when I forget to charge it. 

And the carrying case — which I final- 
ly discarded — has this fiendish little 
open-top disk pouch that's carefully de- 
signed to throw your di.sks across the 
rrxtm the instant the case is unzipped. 
Don't they have Velcro in Japan? (Is Vel- 
cro the undiscovered answer to our trade 
deficit?) 

All of that pales, however, every time 
I pick up the TIOOO and smile as I wedge 
it into my carry-on bag. Because, simply 
put, it's the Least Computer I've found 
that I'm happy using. And at $750 to 
$800 (street prices), it's an incredible 
bargain. 

"Worst computer," heck. If match- 
ing computing power to the task at hand 
is the name of the game , the T 1 000 is one 
of the best computers I've ever used. 

— ^Jim Seymour 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
I.Tt 



■ PORTABLES 


powered laptop into a realistic (by today’s 
standards) IX)S computer. The T10(X)’s 
battery lasted for just over 2 hours when 
the PC Labs battery-life test was run using 
the floppy disk (the test keeps writing the 
current time to a file on disk until the bat- 
tery dies). 


I wouldn’t want to use the 
Toshiba TIOOO to write the entire 
great American novel— just a 
chapterortwoatatime. 


Using the RAMdisk, the battery stayed 
alive for nearly 4 hours, and the data stored 
on the RAMdisk was alive and well when 
the TKXX) was powered up later on. A To- 
shiba product manager says the company 
has tested the B-RAM for up to 7 days with 
no problems. 

The other reason the 768 Card is practi- 
cally required for the TKXX) is that using 
the B-RAM as a RAMdisk makes the ma- 
chine perform like an XT having a really 
good day instead of a floppy-disk- 
equipped AT having a bad one. This 
RAMdisk’s performance closely resem- 
bles that of the hard disk on an AT, and 
even disk-bound programs like Microsoft 
Word take on new laptop life when you in- 
stall them on the TlOOO’s RAM- 
disk — without the power and weight pen- 
alty of an on-board hard disk. 

And just to be sure you’re happy with 
only one magnetic drive on your laptop 
computer, Toshiba installed DOS in ROM 
chips tucked away on the system’s circuit 
bo^, so you don’t have to take up room 
on your floppy or RAMdisk. The only 
penalty here is that you’re stuck with MS- 
DOS 2.11, although you can configure the 
machine to boot another version from the 
floppy or RAMdisk. 

SCREEN QUAUTY Supertwist LCD 
screens aren’t great, but when you’re look- 
ing for a decent compromise between visi- 
bility and battery life, they’ll do just fine. 

The Toshiba version works well 
enough for most airplane usage, and the 


only time it’ll get you into serious trouble 
is when your bus or train goes into a tunnel 
or the city goes into a blackout — a small 
price to pay if light weight and battery life 
are important issues in your choice of a 
laptop. Besides, you can hook up your 
CG A or composite monitor for home or of- 
fice use. 

Most of the TlOOO’s keyboard is the 
same serviceable unit used on the T1 100. 
The only big difference is that the top row 
of keys — ^including the Esc, NumLock, 
ScrollLock, PrtSc, and function keys — are 
half-sized versions. I like this change be- 
cause their smaller size gives these keys a 
different feel and makes them easier to lo- 
cate by touch. Toshiba offers a numeric 
keypad as an option for $99. 

One keyboard oddity is the presence of 
an AT-like SysReq key, which is used to 
call up a screen attribute configuration 
menu when you install the pop-up version 
of Toshiba’s screen utility. Otherwise, the 
keyboard feel and layout are good for a 
laptop machine but, as with most porta- 
bles, I wouldn’t want to use the TIOOO to 
write the entire great American nov- 
el — just a chapter or two at a time. 

You can also install Toshiba’s Hayes- 
compatible 1 ,200-bit-per-second modem 
in the TIOOO. It costs $399 and isn’t much 
fun to install yourself, but it can be done 
and the results are just fine: MCI Mail and 
Citibank Direct Access came to life with- 
out the slightest hint of trouble. 

The word wimpy is often heard when 
the TIOOO is discussed, mosdy because of 
its 4.77-MHz 80C88 performance. But if 
you’re using a laptop only for word pro- 
cessing, communications, and occasional 
heavy-processor applications like spread- 
sheets, this little guy is just the ticket. For 
that matter, at a New York street price of 
under $800, GRiDCase owners might 
want to buy a TKXX) so they have some- 
thing to do when their battery dies. 

— ^John Dickinson 

TOSHIBA AMERICA INC. 

Toshiba T1200 

Like the amazing TIOOO, Toshiba’s T1200 
is a collection of quality components 
squeezed into a box inches smaller and 
pounds lighter than the competition offers. 
Those parts include an 80C86 processor 


iyu 

Mfact file 


Toshiba TlZtm 
Toshiba America Inc. 
information Systems Division 
9740 Irvine Blvd. 

Irvine. CA 92718 
{8(K)) 457-7777 

List Price: With one 3 '/ 2 -inch lli^py disk 
drive, 20MB harxl disk. 1MB RAM. $3,499, 
In Short: You won’t find a backlit screen on 
this 1 1 -pounder, but it is by far the smallest 
20MB hard disk laptop you can buy. 

CrfKLE6710NREADE:B^RVICCCARb 


mnning at keyboard-selectable speeds of 
4.77 and 9.54 MHz, 1MB RAM, one 
720K 3 '/ 2 -inch disk drive, a 20MB hard 
disk, and a supertwist LCD screen. 

While the TI2(X)’s $3,499 price tag 
causes a momentary wince, the $3,599 Ze- 
nith Z-183 and the $3,695 NEC Multi- 
Speed HD put things in perspective. A 
similarly equipped Epson ^uity LT costs 
about the same as well. What those ma- 
chines have that the TI200 does not is a 
backlit screen. In the Toshiba’s favor is its 
diminutive size. There is no comparison 
with the Z-183, and the MultiSpe^ is an 
inch thicker, an inch and a half wider, and 
a half-inch deeper than the similarly con- 
figured T1200. Unlike most laptops, this 
one fits on your lap. 

RAMDISK The Tl 200 lets you take any 
slice of the 384K RAM above 640K and 
turn it into a speedy hard RAMdisk that 
will cut down hard disk access, thus in- 
creasing battery longevity. You can also 
enable a special battery-powered RE- 
SUME feature that will save the data in 
hard RAM when the machine is turned off. 

When you mm on the laptop again, you 
find yourself at the exact spot where you 
left off; there’s no need to save the data 
first — and no need to write to floppies. 
Virmal disks can also be simulated within 
the conventional 640K RAM. Semp for 
these features is accomplished through a 
straightforward setup menu. 

One of this laptop’s most useful fea- 
tures is its removable battery pack. With 
an optional battery charger, you can main- 
tain an extra supply of fully charged batter- 
ies at all times. When the low-battery indi- 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
134 






3 NETWORK 





No other portable 
can say this much for itself 




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■ PORTABLES 



The Toshiba T 1200 provides most of the same features as the NEC MultiSpeed HD. the Epson 
Equity LT, or the Zenith Z- 183, but in a smatler package ii2 by 12 inches). Priced at $3,499, the 
TI200 includes a nonbacklit supertwist LCD screen and a 20MB hard disk. Battery life with 
moderate disk access is a little over 2 hours. 


cator light starts to glow, just pop in a fresh 
battery pack and keep computing. In PC 
Labs testing, the discharge time of one bat- 
tery pack was found to be a little over 2 
hours. 

The TI200's keyboard is a model of 
both neatness and organization. Its 82 keys 
include ten full-size function keys placed 
across the top and four dedicated cursor 
movement keys arrayed in an inverted-T 
layout. A numeric keypad is embedded in 
the alphanumeric keys on the right-hand 
side of the keyboard, and a special Fn key 
at the left of the Spacebar is used to acti- 
vate all the second-level key operations. 
Keyboard feel (as well as layout) was rated 
as very good by PC Magazine's editors, 
and indeed it is. The Toshiba’s keyboard 
clicks quite audibly, but the steady hum of 


the Jets during an airplane flight is more 
than enough to drown it out. 

LET THERE BE UGHT Ifyouusethe 
TI200 in a darkened airplane, however, 
you may wonder why Toshiba has not in- 
cluded a backlit screen as Epson, NEC, 
Sharp, and Zenith have on their hard disk 
laptops. The best reason (and perhaps the 
only reason) to stick with an unlit LCD is 
to lengthen battery life. The supertwist 
LCD screen is quite readable in adequate 
light, but if you find yourself in a dark 
place without a light source, you may as 
well go to sleep. Back at the office, you 
can avoid the screen altogether with the 
RGB and composite monitor interfaces 
that are standard with the machine. 

The base price of the TI200 includes 


MS-DOS 3.2, Borland’s Sir/e/C/cit. a stur- 
dy carrying case, and documentation that 
is clear and illustrated with color photo- 
graphs. Two types of 1 ,2(X)-bit-per-sec- 
ond modem are available; either one costs 
$399. The advantage of the factory-in- 
stalled, built-in modem is that it does not 
occupy the TI200's single expansion slot. 
The user-installable modem that resides in 
the expansion slot has the advantage of be- 
ing Bell/CCITT switchable. A five-slot 
expansion chassis is also available. 

Despite the lack of a backlit screen, the 
TI200 is an able competitor in the $3,500, 
20MB hard disk laptop category. Other 
machines may have better screens, but if 
you submit all the competition to the 
dreaded tape-measure test, Toshiba 
emerges the winner. 

— Donald P. Willmott 

ZENITH DATA SYSTEMS 

Zenith Z-183 

At Just over 16 pounds, the Zenith Z-183 is 
a real arm-stretcher. While other portables 
sport exotic new CPUs, this one plods 
along with an anachronistic CMOS 8088. 
Its function keys were designed by some- 
one who obviously doesn’t move his fin- 
gers far from the home row. And (shades 
of the PCjr) you have to punch a special Fn 
shift key to execute a PgUp, PgDn, Home, 
or End. Worse, since its clamshell screen 
fastens to the very rear of the case, when 
the Neanderthal in the row ahead of you 



i»BiFACT FILE 


Zenith Z>IK3 
Zenith Data Sysients 
KKX) Milwaukee Ave. 

Glenview. 1L60025 
(800)842-9000 

List Price: With 640K RAM. one 3'/2-inch 
floppy disk drive. lOMB harddisk. $3,199; 
with 20MB hard disk. S3.599. 

In Short: This model is extremely well de- 
signed and constnicted. though too bulky and 
heavy for most laps. Other laptops can run 
circles around its 8088. but if you're accus- 
tomed to IBM quality and you want some- 
thing rock -solid with respectable perfor- 
mance and a superb display, this is the one. 
CIRCLE 670 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


PC MAGAZINE • MARCH2 9. 1988 
136 




a o 


The Graphics 
Gallery makes 
winning 
presentations. 

Here’s graphic proof. 










Seeing is believing. Which is why Hewlett- 
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We want you to see for 
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Do you use 1-2-3* from Lotus*? The 
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Interested in desktop 
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ackages. And it creates 
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Whafs more. The Graphics 
allery gives you a flexible choice 
3f output Choose from colorful 
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ind you get with the HP LaserJet 
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We want to prove to you that seeing really is believing. 


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PC 3/29/88 



■ PORTABLES 



The Zenith Z-l8S's new 20MB hard disk keeps it competitive with more-recent arrivals, and its 
brilliant backlit screen still outshines the competition. This laptop, which weighs about 16 pounds. 
isbasedonan80C88processorrunningat8MHz. The price of the lOMB version has dropped to 
$3,199. and the 20MB model sells for $3,599. 


crunches his airplane seat against your 
knees, it's time to save and quit. 

But this is still a gem of a machine. The 
body is sleek and solid; it’s one gorgeous 
white wedge. Everything, from the sturdy 
retractable handle to the double-thick 
Lexan door that snaps authoritatively over 
the I/O ports, whispers quality. In a world 
of flimsy, wobbly toy laptops, the Zenith 
Z- 1 83 is an engineering marvel. 

And that unparalleled full-aspect 
screen — with lush, deep, saturated blue 
text against a throbbing silvery-white 
background — continues to drop jaws ev- 
ery time it’s popped on. The thing is so 
large, bright, and readable that it looks like 
a carnival trick. 


Zenith didn’t really change its earlier 
model 183 other than slipping in a hard 
disk that’s slightly faster (at 73 millisec- 
onds average access time), and twice as 
large as the original 10MB hard disk. Why 
tamper with success? The 8-MHz 8-bit 
CPU is no bam-bumer, but it gets the job 
done. 

Apart from the uninterrupted swath of 
Chiclet-style function keys spanning the 
top row, the Zenith Z-I83’s 78-key key- 
board layout is both spacious and sensible. 
It avoids the cramped, claustrophobic feel 
of smaller laptops, and sports a true dis- 
crete cursor diamond in the lower-right- 
hand comer, a large J-shaped Enter key. 
Shift keys in the proper places, and an al- 


phanumeric arrangement mostly the same 
as that of a classic AT. Green LEDs wink 
on to indicate Shift states. Raised Braille- 
type dots keep your Angers centered over 
the F and J keys. The 2M 83’s key action is 
properly stiff and springy; half the hard- 

The display on the Z-183 is 
so big and easy to read that I 
consciously have to mute 
it when I’m flying somewhere. 


ware that we tested came with mushy, 
wimpy little buttons where the keyboa^ 
should be. 

SUPERSCREEN J ust about every other 
battery-operated system slaps a pint-sized 
display onto an otherwise respectable 
chassis. These always end up looking as 
dinky and out of proportion as the small 
circular lubes on e^y- l9S0s cabinet-sized 
TVs. (Driving a dark, squinty screen with 
a hot CPU is like hooking up a brand-new 
stereo system so it plays through the twit- 
tery speaker on your rc.) The display on 
the Z-183 is so big and easy to read that I 
consciously have to mute it when I’m fly- 
ing somewhere so the folks sitting thr% 
rows back don’t catch the misspellings be- 
fore I do. 

While other portable manufacturers 
make you fumble around to the side of 
their systems to switch disks. Zenith lets 
you slide them in and out from the top — a 
real convenience when you’re sandwiched 
on a nonstop flight between a pinguid 
sumo wrestler and a guy nicknamed "Man 
Mountain." However, top-mounted pop- 
up drives and the tallest screen this side of 
an EGA end up consuming a lot of real es- 
tate. The case measures 13 'A inches from 
front to back and takes up a lot of lap, 
which spells trouble if you buy your busi- 
ness suits in the Extra Short Shop. 

The screen connects to the body with a 
silky-sm<x>th friction hinge that locks it 
Armly in place over a wide arc of viewing 
angles. You can control the contrast and 
brightness with handy sliders directly 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
138 



Our team can round up some pretty impressive 
facts and figures for our reports. But even with 
top-notch writing, the data was getting lost on 
the page. It seemed words and numbers just 
weren’t enough. We needed an easy way of 
producing text and combining it wiA graphs and 
pictures. The perfect solution was GEM 1st Word 
Plus. It’s an ilvanced, full-featured word 
processor that can bring in graphics from other 
GEM®software programs, like GEM®Graph'“. Now 
we take all those facts and figures and turn them 
into bar graphs, pie charts and maps that really 
jazz up our data. 

Teamed up with GEM Graph, GEM 1st Word 
Plus lets us create documents that go beyond 
words . . .they tell the complete stoiy! 


GEM®lst Word Plus” 

• Advanced, full-fimction word processor 

• Easy to learn and use— drop-down menus and 
mouse support 

• Merge words and pictures, full WYSIWYG 

• Multiple windows for easy text transfer 

• Hyphenation, footnotes, justification, decimal talxilation, 
and search and replace 

• Spelling checker 

• Includes GEM® Paint™ for aeating illustrations 

• Includes GEM®lst Mall™ for aeating form letters 

• Create headers and footers and save aeated formats 

• Works with otha GEM software programs 

• Supports many printers and graphics boards 

For a word processor that goes beyond words, cad or 
write Digit^ Research for the dealer nearest you. 
Digital Research Inc., Box DRI, Monterey, CA 93942 

1 - 800 - 443-4200 


H DIGITAL RESEARCH* 

GEM, DigM Reseatdi. and the Digital Research logo are regbtertd trademarks and GEM 1st Word Plus, GEM Gn^h. GEM Paint and GEM isi Mail are trademarks 
of OigM Research liK. Isi Word Plus and 1st Mail vetrademarks^GSTHoUngs, Ltd. Copyr^© 1969. D^iial Research Inc. All rights reserved. 

CIRCLE 743 ON READER SERVICE CARD 




No Other Partable PC 
Can MakeThis St^ment 






At 6.4 pounds, the newTlOOO is the lightest 
portable PC in the world 

Yet within its diminutive footprint (it's about 
a foot wide and not even that deep) lies all the 
power of a desktop PC. 

Included are 512KB of RAM and a built-in 
720KB3V2' floppy drive, plus MS-DOS® 211 
in ROM. 

And better still, you can choose our 768Card 
which can be configured as EMS memory or as a 
battery-backed RAM disk. So you can load your 
softw^ onto the 768(Iard— which then acts like 
an invisible second drive— and get even faster 
access to your programs. 

Of course, the ffiM-compatibleTlOOO i 

:ofiEeisypu swne other very intelligent options, i js 
' ike a numeric keypad and a 1200 bps Hayls®- ^ 
compatible internal modem. 


So ifs no wonder that a source as authoritative 
as/CWMwouldsay theT1000is“li^t, but 
no featherwei^t in performance.” 

All in all, it’s the perfect way to go to work with- 
out going to work. Or to get home eariy, even when 
you^ be working late. 

Call 1-800-457-7777 to find out more about the 
full line of Toshiba PCs. 

And see how it feels 
to pick up the most 
portable portable in 
the world Nothing 
is as easy to take. 


Except, maybe, 
itsppci . 


CfHtMiratidn. Hayes is a registeted 
inocr 


. 'mark of Hiyes Corporation IBM isa registered 
ir.tdt'itiarii of IntcmatioaiJ Business-Machiites Corporiiiinn 



In Touch with Tomoiijowl i 

TOSHIBA^ 


Irwhiia Amaica Inc.. Inluiniibon Syidcms Dmsicn 





i.. i::- 


i.A. 1 i 





■ PORTABLES 



|T||^ E D 1 T O R ’ S 
C™ CHOICE 


. GRiDCase 1530 
. Toshiba TIIMMI 


Thoufih the GRiDCase 1530 and the 
Toshiba T 1000 are very different 
laptops, they share one important 
characteristic: outstanding design. 
With a list price of $1.1 99 and street 
prices $300 to $400 lower, the 

T 1000 may become the essential 
laptop. It is totally portable, very 
rugged, and it gives you enough 
power on the road to write and com- 
municate .smoothly — the tw’o appli- 
cations that laptop users need mo.st. 
Hats off to Toshiba for designing a 
6-pound machine that .some people 
are calling the ftr.st real laptop com- 
puter. 

At the other end of the price and 
power .spectrum is the GRiDCase 
1530. Never before has so much 
power been squeezed info a laptop 
design. Like the THXX), the 1530 is 
extremely portable, hut unlike the 
THXX), it allows you to take all your 
desktop data with you on the road 
and access and u.se it with blinding 
speed on a beautiful .screen. In addi- 
tion, its LAN emulation cartridges 
are the most innovative laptop pe- 
ripheral we've .seen in a long time. 

Many people are willing to travel 
with an AC-powered lunchbox-style 
portable in order to have indu.stry- 
standard expansion .slots and extra- 
large hard disks available to them. 

In that category, the Compaq Porta- 
ble 3H6 is the machine to tote along. 
Its pr(K€.ssing power is unsurpassed 
by any other portable, and you may 
even con.sider using it as the ulti- 
mate small-footprint desktop ma- 
chine . No matter how you use it, you 
won’t be disappointed. 

r 

i 

c 

hove the top row of keys. Since the lumi- 
ous panel that provides the backlighting 
s such a power pig, this makes it a snap to 
lim the screen between bursts of typing, 
ifou can also have the system blink the 


The First Wond 
on OS/2 


inSDE OS 2 


GQRDCflLETLjri 


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and users will utilize OS/2 . . . rite he.st way for them to 
understand the overall philosophy of the system will be 
to read this hot 2: " Kill <;aies 

INSIDE OS/2. Here — from Microsoft's Chief 
Arch itect of Systems Software — is a candid and ex- 
citing technical examination of OS/2. In unprece- 
dented detail. Gordon Letwin explores the 
philosophy, key development issues, programming 
implications, and future of OS/2. And he provides 
the first in-depth look at each of OS/2's design ele- 
ments — how they work alone and theirroles in the 
system. INSl DE OS/2 is a valuable programmer-to- 
programmer di.scussion of the graphical user inter- 
face. multitasking, protection, encapsulation, inter- 
process communication, and more. You can't get a 

more inside view. $19.95. 

Microsoft Press 

Quality Computer Books 

Available wherever hooks and software are sold. 
Orcallinyourcredilcardorder.mhf>Mi-MmilnMDH24-7300).ReferloadPM3H. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
141 




PEimiRS 



never woffc 
wtthout a net.‘ 

Only AVNET Computer Technologies, Inc. offers you 
the products, the support, the service— everything you 
need for truly great performances in your workplace. 

AVNET is an advanced product dealer, offering a 
full line of todays most sophisticated PC hardware 
and accessories. 

No other computer dealer offers the AVNET value- 
added difference. • 29 locations nationwide— coast to 
coast. • AVNETs experienced National Service Organi- 
zation— a wealth of technical training and support just 
a phone call away. • AVNEPs own leasing and rental 
programs, customized to your needs. • Custom PC 
configuration, and complete assembly and test facilities. 
• National Distribution— Products are available when 
you need them. 

From 29 offices nationwide ... let us show you how 
AVNEPs value-added difference can make the difference 
in your performance. Call 1-800-255-2281, or in 
Minnesota, 612-942-9170. 



From Avnet: 

Advanced Logic Research/FlexCache"' 386 Series. 

The FlexCache 386 Series of 16 and 20 MHz micro- 
computers combine Advanced Cache Memory Dual Bus 
Architecture with the most efficient hard disk technology 
to make these the fastest PCs available. 

• ALRIs advanced FlexCache 20386 systems provide a 
wide-open, high-speed data channel for up to 60% faster 
CPU/memory data throughput than the IBM model 
80/071 with its much touted microchannel architecture. 
• Cache memory controllers with 32 KBytes 
of high-speed 35 ns static RAM keep 
frequently used data close at hand. That 
eliminates wait-states up to 
95% of the time and results 
in 0 wait-state performance. 

Compatible with Novell, 

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IBM IS a registered trademark ol Inlernaiional Business Machines Corporation Novell is a regtsiered trademark ol Novell, Inc 

CIRCLE 195 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


AVNALR032 


■ PORTABLES 


backlit panel o(T automatically at just about 
any interval you want. 

Zenith's original power supply came 
with a short cord and a nasty habit of melt- 
ing if you left it plugged in too long. The 
new one solves both of those problems and 
is relatively light and compact. To con- 
serve juice, virtually everything under the 
hrxxl — the floppy controller; serial, paral- 
lel, and RGB ports; modem; and hard disk 
controller (but not the hard disk mo- 
tor) — shuts down when not in u.se. 

Standard-issue C cells will keep things 
going for 2 to 3 hours, but you can pur- 
cha.se D-sized nickel cadmium batteries 
that will nearly double that. A low-power 
light flashes and the system beeps annoy- 
ingly when the batteries are nearly spent. 
However, if you accidentally close the lid 
without snapping off the power, the sys- 
tem won’t warn you, and the lid will muf- 
fle the eventual beeps. 

Tbe standard Zenith Z- 1 83 comes from 
the factory with 640K RAM, one 3'/^-inch 
720K floppy disk drive, a 10- or 20MB 
hard disk, DOS 3.2, keyboard-selectable 
LXTD/RGB output, a real-time clock. 9-pin 
serial and 25-pin parallel ports, and a port 
for an external floppy di.sk drive or a bar 
code reader. A side-mounted DIN connec- 
tor lets you plug in an optional numeric 
keypad or even your favorite PC key- 
board, and you can plunk in an 8087 math 
coprocessor. 

Zenith’s firmware Monitor program 
lets you perform assorted tests and DE- 
BUG-like functions, customize the display 
attributes, and even adjust the screen so 
that it does “smooth scrolling” rather than 
jumping the display up a line at a time. 
And Zenith not only furnishes a slate of on- 
disk utilities to streamline your operation 
but actually makes them almost friendly. 
For instance, typing “MODE ?” pops up a 
series of help screens that sort out the com- 
plex commands needed to do proper hard- 
ware configuration. 

If you crave taw, brute power in the ti- 
niest possible package and you don’t mind 
reading in the dark, you may be better off 
with other systems. But if you’re planning 
to spend close to $4,000 on a road machine 
and you want the sturdiest, best-built, 
most stylish, most readable laptop on the 
market . snap up one of these . 

— Paul Somerson 


The Ultimate 

MS-DOS 

Resource 



MS-DOS — the starting place for the development 
of over 20,(X)0 software applications. THE MS- 
DOS ENCYCLOPEDIA — the starting place for 
data, advice, and insight that will make your MS- 
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MS-DOS ENCYCLOPEDIA is a programmer’s 
dream. 1600 pages packed with version-specific 
data. Annotations of more than 100 system function 
calls, 90 user commands, and a host of utilities. 
Hundreds of hands-on examples and thousands of 
lines of code. Plus articles on debugging, installable 
device drivers, TSRs, Windows, memory manage- 
ment, the future of MS-DOS, and much more. 
Researched and written by a team of MS-DOS ex- 
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3.2, with a special section on version 3.3. $ 134 . 95 . 

Microsoft' Press 

Quality Computer Books 

Available wherever hooks and software are sold. 

Or call in your credit card order. 800-638-3030 (In MD 824-7300). Refer to adPMSH. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
143 





Lotus* Symphony* 
is designed for 
busy PC users like 
you who need to 
do many different 
jobs on the PC. 

In one package 
Lotus Symphony 


If you’re like most 
people in business, a day 
doesn’t go by when you 
don’t have many balls up 
in the air at once. 

But your PC is proba- 
bly not equipped to help 
you with aH the different 
aspects of your job. 

And if you’re using 
the computer for 
more than one task, 
it’s often annoying 
and tune consum- 
ing jumping back 
and fortti from one 
program to another. 

Word pmcessing. Write a document in the fuU/eatured 
ti<ord procestsor. Even include a spreadsheet. 

combines spread- 
sheet, word proc- 
essing, graphics, 
database and 
communications, 
putting five key 
business tools at 
your finger tips. And 

Spreadsheet. Create a UUile in a spmidsheetUuUwiUautomaticaUy ^ r 

calcuUileformiilas,aUomngfor<iiliiU ifamUyses. yOU Ollly haVe tO leaiTl 


Savings Ptan Enrollment 
Response by Department 


kiui 

Mktg. Sates Mig Finance HR 


Gmphies. Instantly turn your spreadsheet data into 

a graph. Choose /km six graph types. 

one program to work 
with all five applications. 

Unlike many integrated 
software pactages, the 
depth of each individual 
Symphony application is 
not sacrificed for the sake 
of integration. 

Each of the functions is 
powerful enough to meet 
your growing computing 
needs. In fact, the spread- 
sheet, with an extensive 
conunand language, is 
based on the very same 
technology as 1-2-3* the 
industry standard. 











npitercando 
ut can it ju^e? 




And since Symphony 
is fiDm Lotus, it’s com- 
patible with a variety of 
other Lotus products 
which means Symphony 


Database. Store ijrformation tn a powerful database that 
canlioldoverS.000reanxls,ieithuptoS56fieUis. 


2.0, has no copyprotection 
and comes with many 
new features, including 
enhanced database and 
word processing, a spell- 
ing checker and text 
outliner, plus 
minimal recalc for 
fester spreadsheet 
performance, DCA 
file translation to 
exchangedatavrith 
other programs, as 
well as VTIOO 
terminal emulation. 


users can share files 
with 1-2-3 users, for 
example. 

What’s more,the 
all-in-one nature of 
Symphony makes 
it ideal for use with 
laptop computers. 


so you can take your 


1 upi ivji ij ID uocu uy 

hundred of thousands of 
satisfied PC users. 

And because it’s 
from Lotus, the leading 
developer of PC applica- 
tions software, you can 
be sure we’U continue 
to enhance and support 
the product as your 
nee^ and technology 
continue to evolve. 

So, if you’d like your 
PC to help you keep up 
vrith the varied functions 
your job entails, have 
Symphony teach it some 
new tricks. 

UitiisSjTnfiioiiy | 


UTitVl \7ni1 ComMUMicatUMS.Serui<}rreoeivedatabetweenymrPCarui 

WllUlC UlilVJC WlLll jUU. amair\frame,aiuitherPCorartortlirteirtfontratioRservice. 

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■ MONITORS ■ FRANK BICAN 


I n his September 15, 1987. column, contributing editor 
Jim Seymour hit the nail on the head when he pointed out 
an oft-forgotten truism in the PC industry: "Software sells 
hardware." Take monitors; were it not for software that de- 
manded greater precision and the ability to display more-com- 
plex images, ultra-high-resolution monochrome monitors 
would probably never have come about. 

It’s only been a few months since PC Magazine last sur- 
veyed premium monochrome monitors (see "Screen Gems." 

BUCK-AND-WHITE 

MONITORS: 

THE DESIGNER 
COLLECTION 

PC Magazine, November 24, 1987), but this market is bur- 
geoning so quickly, both in sales and in product variations, 
that we decided to have another look. 

Desktop publishing (DTP) and computer-aided design 
(CAD) are the raisons d'etre for these high-re.solution moni- 
tors (also commonly referred to as paper-white monitors for 
their authentic-looking black characters or lines on a white 
background). While IBM's conventional display adapters 
have been slowly increasing the legibility of video images 
since the PC's inception, graphics-ba.sed programs arc merely 
acceptable, at best, on ordinary display systems. 

STANDARD MODES IBM's standard video modes range 
from the uninspiring, represented by the Color/Graphics 
Adapter (CGA) (with 640- by 200-pixel resolution in mono- 
chrome mixle), to the adequate, in the PS/2's Video Graphics 
Amay (at 640 by 480 pixels per screen). 

Color makes the VGA image (and. to some extent, that of 
the Enhanced Graphics Adapter) more legible and certainly 
more interesting, but it doesn't help in putting any more of the 


DTP and CAD users have put 
moncx'hronie monitors back in the 
picture. With great new drivers for 
spreadsheets and word prixessing, 
black and white may be tlie only 
colors you'll ever need. 



PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
147 



■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 


I ■ Li' Black-and-White Monitors: Summary of Features 


I (Products listed in ascending price order) 


Lii 

Amdek 


E 


E 



Multisync 6S 
S279 

Monilor/1280' 

$999 

Wyse WY-700* 
$999 

LM-300 
$1 .500 

LM-301 
$1 .500 

MDS Genius 

$1,795 

NEC MonoGraph 
$1 .995 

Orientation 

Landscape 

Landscape 

Laridscape 

Portrait 

Landscape 

Portrait 

Square 

Scraan aiza (Inchaa) 

14 

15 

15 

15 

15 

15 

16 

Maximum pixal raaolution 
(horiz. by vart) 

720 X 480 

1,280 X 800 

1,280 X 800 

1,200 X 1,664 

1,664 X 1.200 

736 X 1.008 

1,024 X 1.024 

Control lar 

None 

1280 Graphics 1280 Graphics LaserPage 
Adapter Card Adapter Card Interface 

PG-1600 

Interface 

Genius 

Controller 

MonoGraph 

System Board 

IBM modes emulated 

CGA, EGA. 
Hercules. 
MCGA, MDA, 
Super EGA, 
VGA 

CGA. MDA 

CGA. MDA 

None 

CGA. MDA 

CGA. MDA 

CGA. 

Doublescan 

Drivara 

None 

(iFU 

Lotus 123. 
P’CAD, 
Symphony. 
Windows 

GEM. 

Lotus 1-2-3. 
P-CAD, 
Symphony. 
Windows 

DOS BIOS 

Driver. GEM, 

PageMaker, 

Windows. 

WordPsriBCt. 

VA)fdStar 

AutoCAD. GEM. 
PageMaker, PC 
Paintbrush Plus. 
The Office 
Publisher. 
Ventura, 
Windoers 

AutoCAD. 

FormMalw, 

GEM. 

Lotus 1-2-3. 
Microsoft Word. 
PC f^tntbrush 
Plus, PC write. 
Publisher's Pain 
brush. Samoa 
Word IV. SMIbin 
dar. Symphony. 
Wkswritar. 
Windows. 
WordPerfect, 
WordStar 

Vbnfura. 

Windows 

Mouaa controllar on-board 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

Buatypa 

None 

PC bus 

PC bus 

PC bus 

PC bus 

PC bus 

PC. XT AT bus 

Maximum bua spaed 

N/A 

16 MHz 

16 MHz 

16 MHz 

16 MHz 

20 MHz 

10 MHz 

Internally powered 

• 

O 

O 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Powered by computer 

O 

• 

• 

O 

O 

O 

• 

Primary display capability 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

SacoTKlary display capability 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

TIK/awIval base 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Cable length (feet) 

4 

3 

3 

6 

6 

3'/S 

6 

Brightness control 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Contrast control 

• 

O 

O 

• 

• 

• 

• 

[JZ —Indicates Editor^ Choice •— \bs 

Ca— No N/A — Not applicable: does not have this feature. * Anxiek and Wyse sell the same monitor under different model names. 


image on the screen at any one time. 

This may not be important with most 
conventional applications like spread- 
sheets or even CAD programs, but for 
DTP applications it's practically a must. 
The only way to visualize the impact of a 
page layout is to see it as it will actually ap- 
pear rolling out of a printer, especially if 
that printer is a laser. 

Here is where the paper-white monitors 
come into their own. With resolutions as 


high as 1 ,600 by 1 ,200 pixels, they can 
easily project not just one perfectly repre- 
sented page but, in some cases, even two 
at once. The character images may not be 
very large, especially on the smaller 13- 
inch units, but they will be crisp and clear. 

Although the requirements of DTP ap- 
plications may have made these monitors 
desirable, we have a number of recent 
technological improvements to thank for 
making them possible. Most significant of 


these are increases in the signal band- 
widths and video scan rates over previous 
designs. 

In simplistic terms, the bandwidth 
translates into the number of pixels that 
can be discriminated across the horizontal 
axis, while the scan rate determines the 
number of pixels along the vertical axis. 

The entry-level CGA monitors are 
characterized by vertical scan rates of 
15.75 kHz, the same as a conventional 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
148 



NUMBS 


jS 

Taian Crystal 
View 

$2,195 

Thomson 

980W 

$2,290 

Cornerstone 
Vista 1600 
$2,395 

Moniterm 
Viking 1 
$2,395 

3 a 

Sigma Moniterm 

LaserView Plus Viking Portrait 
$2,395 $2,595 

ConoVislon 

2000 

$2,620 

Landscape 

Landscape 

Landscape 

Landscape 

Landscape 

Portrait 

Portrait 

19 

20 

19 

19 

19 

19 

19 

1,260 X 960 

1.024 X 768 

1.600 X 1,280 

1.280 960 

1,664x1.200 

960 X 1.280 

720 X 2,880 

TX-1280 

Thomson AGC Vista 1600 
Custom 
Control ler 

Viking 1 
Controller 

LaserView 
Plus Display 
Adapter 

Viking 1 
Controllef 

CV-2800 

CGA 

CGA, 

Hercules, 

Monochrome 

Hercules, 

MGA 

CGA. 

Hercules, 

MDA 

Hercules 

CGA. 

Hercules. 

MDA 

Hercules 

AutoCAD. 

QEM. 

Windows 

AutoCAD, 

Windows 

AutoCAD. 

Dr. Halo, 

PageMaker, 

Publisher’s 

Paintbrush, 

\/entura, 

Windows 

AutoCAD. CAD- 
vsnce, Form- 
Maker. QEM. 
ln‘a’Vlak>n. 
Lotua 1-2-3. 
MegaCAD, 
PaoaMakar, 
P-CAD, 
Symphortf. 

UNIX, Vantura. 

VaraaCAD. 

Windowa 

AutoCAD, 
GEM, Lotus 
1-2-3, Page- 
Maker, PC 
Paintbrush, 
Symphony, 
)/entura 

PageMaker, 

Ventura, 

Windows 

AuSjCAD, 

Dr.Hakylll. 

Lofi/S 1-2-3, 
PuUlshar'a 
Paintbrush, 

Vantura. 

Windowa 

O 

• 

• 

0 

0 

O 

O 

PC bus 

PC. AT bus 

XT bus 

AT bus 

XT bos 

AT bus 

PC bus 

20 MHz 

20 MHz 

10MHz 

10 MHz 

8 MHz 

10 MHz 

20 MHz 

O 

O 

• 

O 

O 

O 

O 

• 

O 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

o 

o 

o 

o 

O 

6 

A'/i 

5 

6 

5 

6 

5 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

O 

• 

• 

O 

O 

O 

• 



television set. To get an acceptable image, 
though, the CGA monitor typically has a 


IMTERIACED DISPLAYS In order to 
reduce costs, some manufacturers resort to 



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bandwidth of at least 15 MHz — about five 
times that of a TV (and the reason why 
only hopelessly impoverished video game 
players would consider using a TV as a 
video display today). 

Paper-white monitors, at the other ex- 
treme. can have video bandwidths as high 
as 160 MHz along with 70-kHz vertical 
scan rates. 


interlaced displays, a technique that illu- 
minates alternate vertical scan lines on ev- 
ery other refresh of the scanned image. 

As a result, the display can operate with 
a vertical scan rate only half that of a non- 
interlaced system and still effectively yield 
the same number of vertical pixels. It does 
this at a lower cost. 

The disadvantage of interlaced displays 


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PC MAGAZINE 

149 


CIRCLE 316 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 


is that the image often has a noticeable 
flicker to it, particularly on gray-scale 
graphic images. To make this image fluc- 
tuation less prominent, most builders of in- 
terlaced displays resort to longer-persis- 
tence phosphors in their picture tubes. 

An often-quoted figure for color dis- 
plays is the size of the dot pitch — the size 
of the actual physical area illuminated by 
each pixel, with the best units claiming dot 
sizes as small as 0. 18 millimeters. While 
dot size is a function of the image mask in- 
herent in all color systems, it isn't a factor 
in monochrome displays. In the latter, dot 
size is a function of their bandwidth: the 
greater the bandwidth, the smaller the dot 
size the monitor is capable of displaying, 
with the better systerhs running in the 
0.1 mm range. 

Combine this level of visual acuity with 
the accurate impression of the printed page 
found in a monochrome, and it’s not hard 
to see why these displays are coming back 
into the picture. 

Hard choices Though by now you 
may have started to salivate for one of 
these beauties, a number of hard choices 
remain. 

Depending on your primary reason for 
using a paper-white monitor, the first clear 
question is the layout of the picture tube, 
■fhe most popular of these displays have 
the picture tube oriented the same way as 
in conventional monitors, with the long 
axis arranged horizontally. This arrange- 
ment is commonly referred to as landscape 
orientation, a term we owe not to computer 
engineers but to photographers. 

A camera picture frame similarly ori- 
ented with respect to the horizon allows 
more of the countryside to appear on the 
image, with less space wasted on the sky 
and foreground. Landscape format is gen- 
erally preferable for CAD and many con- 
ventional IX)S applications, such as com- 
munications and databa-ses. 

By contrast, porfra/r-format monitors 
are named for the photographer’s tendency 
to orient the long axis of the film vertically 
when shooting portraits. To a photogra- 
pher, this format places more of the subject 
on the image, with less blank space wasted 
on the sides. 

To us, however, these monitors more 
accurately represent the standard 8 '/ 2 -by- 


1 1 -inch sheet of paper on which the fin- 
ished product will appear. Such monitors 
first appeared on professional phototype- 
setting equipment over a dozen years ago, 
but, with prices exceeding that of a small 
home, these systems never had a chance in 
the general marketplace. Portrait-format 
monitors are generally best for DTP and 
some word processing applications (given 
the necessary software drivers). 

As to which format is preferable for 
spreadsheets, it’s really a toss-up. With the 
right drivers, the landscape formats often 
show more columns and more rows. Por- 
trait monitors, on the other hand, can dis- 
play more rows but seldom show more col- 
umns. 

The physical size of the display image 
would seem to be straightforward: the big- 
ger, the better. Not necessarily. If the ma- 
jority of your work will be with DTP or 
CAD programs (and most others running 
under the Microsoft Windows and GEM 
graphics interfaces), then the increased 
size is beneficial. But the really big 19- 
inch-plus monitors are actually too big if 
the bulk of your time is spent with standard 
text-ba.sed applications. Monitors in the 
13-inch range will be more appealing, not 
to mention cheaper. 

MORE COMPUCATIONS To further 
complicate the issue, paper-white moni- 
tors cannot be selected on the basis of dis- 
play alone. There’s also the consideration 
of their requisite video board and the soft- 
ware drivers necessary to run most pro- 
grams. Each contributes roughly half the 
functions necessary for operation with 
most software packages. 

The software drivers allow programs 
originally written for conventional IBM- 
standard video displays to take advantage 
of the enhanced image that paper-white 
monitors are capable of delivering. 

Virtually all of these packages include 
drivers for the two most popular graphics 
interfaces: Microsoft Windows and Digital 
Research’s GEM. With these drivers, you 
can be sure that the monitors will work 
with the current DTP favorites (Page- 
Maker and Ventura Desktop Publisher) , as 
well as the applications that should appear 
in the near future when OS/2’s Presenta- 
tion Manager becomes available for 
80286- and 80386-based machines. 


In addition, some of the monitors have 
instructions for patching currently avail- 
able applications (such as Lotus 1-2-3 and 
Wordstar) to take advantage of the in- 
creased display area using nothing more 
than DEBUG. A warning: don’t ever at- 
tempt to install the patches on your original 
disks: use only backup copies. DEBUG 
isn’t known for its ease of use, and a mis- 
take on an original could be disastrous. 

For most conventional programs, how- 
ever, the ability of the adapter board to em- 
ulate one or more of the current video stan- 
dards (CGA, MDA, EGA, and Hercules) 
is likely to be more useful. Virtually every 
piece of software ever written for the PC 
supports at least one of these standards, 
and while the results may not take advan- 
tage of all of the capabilities of the paper- 
white display, they do extend its useful- 
ness enormously. 

DISPLAV BOARD CATEGORIES Dis- 
play boards fall into two distinct catego- 
ries: those with their own video coproces- 
sors (like the Texas Instruments 34010 or 
the Intel 82786), and those that rely on the 
host processor. In every case, with the ex-- 
ception of the $279 MultiSync GS, which 
can be adapted to any video board, prices 
include a display adapter card. 

Those with resident coprocessors are 
considerably faster at updating the display 
screen (an important consideration in CAD 
applications), but they aren’t always the 
best at mimicking standard modes. Never- 
theless, their increased speed makes them 
the only reasonable choices for use with 
slower 8088- and 8086-based CPUs. 
Boards without coprocessors typically rep- 
resent conventional standard images (usu- 
ally MDA) quite well, but they’re infuriat- 
ingly slow on anything less than an 8 -MHz 
AT or better. 

There’s a temptation to contemplate 
what would happen if one manufacturer’s 
video board were used with another’s 
monitor. The result, however, could easily 
prove disastrous. Because of their often- 
high power consumption, some of the 
boards are powered by the monitor’s pow- 
er supply. It doesn’t take much to figure 
out that the mix-and-match approach could 
send the monitors, video board, and even 
the CPU’s motherboard up in smoke. 

The final question is just how deep your 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
150 



■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 



pockets are. None of these display systems 
are cheap, tunning from $999 to $2,620. If 
you're entrenched in DTP or CAD require- 
ments, go for the top of the line — they’re 
worth it! But if your interest in graphics-in- 
terface-based applications is only occa- 
sional, and your main aim is for one of the 
finest monochrome systems available, 
then the less-expensive models should 
serve admirably. 

AMDEKCORP. 

Amdek Monitor/ 1280 

WY.SE TECHNOI.OC.Y 

Wyse WY-700 

Price is something that’s seldom men- 
tioned as a feature when talking about pa- 
per-white monitors. For the most part, 
they tend to cost as much as or more than 
their host CPUs, but that’s not the case 
with Amdek Corp.’s little Monitor/ 1 280. 
At a buck under a grand, it’s still not exact- 
ly something you’ll buy without thinking 
twice, but its features nevertheless make it 
a bargain. 

Amdek’s Monitor/1280 and Wyse 
Technology’s WY-700. to begin, are the 
same product: the Amdek is sold on the re- 
tail level, the Wyse through original equip- 
ment manufacturers and value-added re- 
sellers. There was a time when Amdek and 
Wyse were competitors in the monitor 
marketplace, but all this changed when 
Wyse bought out Amdek. (For simplici- 
ty’s sake, both products are referred to 
here as the Amdek.) 

Outwardly, the Amdek is considerably 
more compact than the big 19-inch dis- 
plays, and it doesn't look nearly as ridicu- 
lous as one of those monsters would sitting 
on top of a PC. 

In fact, among the monitors tested here, 
the Amdek (along with the NEC) is one of 
the few monitors that I would contemplate 
placing on top of a plastic-cased PC clone. 
The Amdek's beige all-plastic cabinet is 
attractive and helps contribute to its low 
28-pound weight. 

Also significant in reducing its weight 
is the Amdek’s picture tube. Advertised as 
measuring 15 inches diagonally, the 
screen turned out to be only 13'/2 inches. 
Whether the CRT is larger under the front 
bezel really doesn't matter: only the actual 
viewing area counts. 


HIGHLY LEGIBLE DISPLAY Partially 
because of its smaller size, the Amdek of- 
fers one of the most legible displays I've 
tried with conventional DOS applications. 

A viewing distance of about 24 inches 
tends to be optimal for applications like 
word processing on a typical monochrome 
monitor. Text display on the Amdek is 
easily readable at that range. Larger dis- 
plays, such as the ConoVision and Taxan, 
are best viewed at distances of at least 30 
inches — if you happen to have a desk deep 
enough to allow that. 

Another important factor that contrib- 
utes to legibility is the dot pitch used to 
make up individual character cells. IBM's 
CGA standard uses an 8- by 8-pixel char- 


acter cell, resulting in coarse, fuzzy char- 
acters. 

The Amdek, instead, uses a 16- by 32- 
pixel cell when emulating either a CGA or 
an MDA board. As you might expect, the 
resulting fully formed characters are de- 
lightfully crisp and legible. 

But for DTP and CAD applications, the 
petite screen is better used only occasional- 
ly. The resolution, at 1 ,280 by 8(X) pixels, 
is certainly high enough to pack a great 
deal of information on the screen. The re- 
sulting characters, however, are too small 
to be read easily without your moving un- 
comfortably close to the screen. 

To achieve its level of resolution at a 
modest price, the Amdek relies on inter- 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
151 


Pho(»gn^)hs: Thom O'Ci 



■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 



lacing, a technique in which alternating 
lines of pixels are illuminated on every 
other vertical refresh pass of the electron 
beam. Hence, there is some flickering, or 
shimmering, of the image, which becomes 
particularly evident against a white back- 
ground (the preferred mode for DTP). The 
medium-persistence phosphor used in the 
CRT helps to some extent, but it intro- 
duces its own peculiarity: a ghost image 
that lingers for about half a second after a 
brightly illuminated pixel is turned off. 

Ironically, one result of the phosphor’s 
relatively long persistence is that this mon- 
itor seems to work best in a brightly illumi- 
nated environment — the bane of many 
other monitors. The Amdek's suitability 
for a bright office is further enhanced by an 
etched screen with what appeared to be the 
lowest glare level of the monitors re- 
viewed. The tilt-and-swivel base helps 
eliminate virtually any remaining glare. 

QUICK IMAGE UPDATES No high- 
resolution monitor would be of much use 
without a corresponding display adapter, 
and the Amdek board set (a full-length 
board with a similar-size daughtercard) ap- 
pears to be of above-average construction 



Amdek Moiiit(N‘/1280 
Amdek Coq>. 

1901 ZankerRd. 

San Jose. CA 95 1 12 
(408)436-8570 

WyseWY-700 
Wysc Technology 
3571 N. First St. 

SanJose.CA 95134 
(408)433-1000 

List Price: S999 

Requires: Full-length slot; DOS 2. 1 or later. 
In Short: The same monitor is marketed un- 
der different model names by both Wyse and 
Amdek. An excellent choice for everyday 
^>plicaiions, it offers a bri^t, legible display 
that is perfect for long-term sessions with a 
word prDces.sor or spreadsheet. For DTP and 
CAD. though, the small, interlaced screen is 
better suited to occasional use. The bargain 
price (comparatively speaking) makes its 
flaws seem insignificant. 

ClfCLE an ON HeADCfl SERVICE CABO 


quality. Based on the Motorola 6845 video 
coproce.s.st)r, it results in gratifyingly quick 
image updates despite its support for only 
an 8-bit bus structure. 

Software support for the Amdek is fair- 
ly extensive, both as part of the package 
and from third-party vendors. Drivers ate 
included for GEM (Versions 1.2 and 
2.11), Microsoft Windows, and Lotus 
1-2-3, Release 2.01 (this last enabling a 
display of spreadsheets measuring 1 60 col- 
umns by 50 rows). 

The list of third-party software vendors 
supporting the Amdek continues to grow, 
as evidenced by the latest releases of Auto- 
CAD. Generic CADD. P-CAD. ln*a*Vi- 
sion, VersaCAD, Javeiin, ByLine, Dr. 
Halo. WordStar Professionai, and PC 


Paintbrush Plus, to name but a few of the 
most common. As of this writing, the Am- 
dek is supported by over 90 programs; as 
its sales grow, so will its support. 

Besides the drivers, the disk also con- 
tains a utility for clearing the screen after a 
preselected length of time; a program that 
acts like the DOS CLS command but 
clears all of the screen regardless of operat- 
ing mode. A utility called SCREEN se- 
lects display modes ranging from 80 char- 
acters by 25 lines on up to 160 by 50. 

For the most part, though, the extended 
display modes are useful only at the DOS 
level or with basic programs, since most 
commercial applications will restore the 
display to 80- by 25-character mode upon 
startup, no matter what mode happened to 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
152 


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cassette tape system for all 
your PC and PS/2 backup 
needs. 

Or choose other leading 
backup products from the 
complete Sysgen family, 
including the 120Mb Net- 
File™ for backing up entire 
Novell® networks and 


the 40Mb Bridge-Tape™ 
subsystem that’s PC and PS/2 
compatible, for total backup 
and data transfer flexibility. 

Sysgen backup systems 
offer you the highest 
performance at the lowest 
prices in the marketplace. 
With the proven reliability 
of 100,000 installed backup 
systems. And a #1 rating by 
industry experts. 


Ask your dealer for a Sysgen 
backup system or call the 
Sysgen hotline for more 
information. 

1 - 800 - 821-2151 


SYSGEN 


Saarl lBB(*,S7itn.Nt«>nit. Carp, Brtbtrrrd Tradriirt: NarrH-Narrtl.lat. 


tVSCCN !•<. . 5MCI»rtfl*r Drtr*. MUpitat. CA »M3S. i4M) 1*5.4411. « Cap^ripil. Sr«*«. Im. ItM. IMtaarks: QIC-FH*. ! 



■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 


be selected by the user at the DOS level. 

Despite their limited display area and 
interlaced design, the Amdek and Wyse 
monitors rate as a best buy when high reso- 
lution is required at a reasonable price. 
Let’s face it. if we had the money, we 
would all be driving a Jaguar — but those 
little hatchbacks are so much cheaper and 
more practical . . . and so darned cute. 
That's the impression conveyed by these 
gems. 

CONOCRAPHK’ C ORP. 

ConoVision 2800 

By now. the Conographic name is familiar 
to nearly everyone who's serious about 
desktop publishing. A leading supplier of 
name-brand typefaces for laser printers. 
Conographic's products make DTP publi- 
cations look like custom-typeset layouts 
rather than something cranked out of an 
old dot matrix that’s missing a wire in its 
printhead. 

It follows, then, that the company 
would offer a display package — the 
$2,620 ConoVision 2800-^hat fully inte- 
grates the PC with a laser printer. All that 
remains is for you to select a suitable DTP 
program. 

The ConoVision 2800 display adapter 
is unique among these packages in that it 
has two connectors on its rear strap: one for 
the monitor and one fora laser printer. The 
printer port is capable of controlling any 
printer that uses the Canon LBP-CX en- 




F A C T 


FILE 


ConoViuon 2800 
Conographic Coq). 

16802 Aston Si. 

Irvine, CA 92714 
(714)474-1188 
List Price: $2,620 

Requires: Full-ienglh slut. DOS 2. 1 or later. 
In Short: If you can live with the slight shim- 
niehng from the interlaced image, then the 
ConoVision 2800 is clearly a contender for 
your DTP and CAD applications. The ability 
to emulate the Hercules Monochrome 
Graphics Adapter also gives it gwxl. if 
outstanding, functionality with everyday 
DOS applk^ions. 
ClRCLEeWONHEAPenSERViCECATO 


gine. which includes the Hewlett-Packard 
LaserJet series and the Cordata systems. 

An additional driver, supplied on the 
device driver disk for application software, 
supports the Tall Tree JLaser board using 
Lotus-Intel-Microsoft (LIM) expanded 
memory. This also makes it a likely candi- 
date for AutoCAD image printing, which 
also supports the JLaser txiard. 

Additional software support for the 
ConoVision 2800 comes in the form of 
drivers (or Microsoft Windows, AutoCAD, 
Ventura Desktop Publisher, Media Cyber- 
netics' Dr. Halo III, and Z-Soft Corp.’s 
PC Paintbrush Plus and Publisher’s 
Paintbrush. Only the Ventura driver set, 
though, is capable of handling all of the 
printer controls as well as the screen dis- 


play: the others are limited to the video 
graphics alone. 

Perhaps of equal importance to many 
will be the optional ($50) driver disk for 
Lotus 1-2-3, Relea.se 2.01, which came 
with our review unit. It enables the CV- 
2800 to display spreadsheets of 160 col- 
umns by 39 rows, as well as 1-2-3 graph- 
ics. Both spreadsheet data and graphic 
images can also be imported into the Ven- 
tura and PageMaker screens. 

It's just unfortunate that, for the high 
price of this (and every other) paper-white 
monitor. Conographic didn't include the 
1-2-3 drivers without an additional charge. 

The monitor itself reminds me of a line 
from the movie M*A*S*H: "I've seen 
your face before, stranger, but the name 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. IVSS 
154 




If you’re looking 
for powerful 
software to solve 
your network 
problems... 




. . . vou should 



You could invest thousands of dollars 
in network hardware. Or hundreds of 
thousands. Yet to fully realize your net- 
work’s potential, you need the right 
software. 

That’s why you should be seeing 
Novell for total network software solutions. 

As a networking leader, Novell has 
pioneered the tremendous rise in PC- 
based networks. Today, Novell’s vision 
of networking starts at the desktop and 
expands outward toward the goal of total 
computer connectivity. 


That vision begins with Net^%re,* the 
recognized standard for local area network 
operating systems. With an installed base 
of over a million workstations, NetW^e 
puts power in the hands of network users 
at all levels; from ELS NetWare, for entry- 
level solutions, to SFT’-NetWare, provid- 
ing high-performance system fault tolerant 
networking. 

Beyond Net^^^e, Novell offers PCOX™ 
software for linking PCs and LANs with 
mainframes and minicomputers. And bridg- 
ing software to connect separate LANs. 



Novell also provides programming 
tools like MHS, and Btrieve* and XQL* 
file management software. Plus extensive 
support for independent developers of 
network applications. 

With all these software products and 
more, Novell gives greater flexibility and 
reliability to your network. And pushes the 
total networking spectrum closer to seam- 
less connectivity. 

End your search for powerful network 
software . See your Authorized Novell Gold 
Reseller, or call 1-800-LANKIND. 


For more information, call from your 
modem 1-800-444-4472 (300-1200 baud, 

8 bit, no parity, 1 stop bit) and enter the access 
codeNVSOFG. 


N N O V E L L 


For network solutions, 
you should be seeingred. 


CIRCLE 103 ON READER SERVICE CARD 




■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 


|T^y; Benchmark Test: 

Black-and- White Monitors 


W hile the overall contrast level of the 
monitors tested varied by less than 20 
percent, all of the results represent highly 
readable levels. The differences are note- 
worthy if you plan to use the monitor for 
extended periods regularly. The NEC 
Multisync GS. ConoVision 2800, Princeton 
LM-300, Sigma LaserView Plus (an Editor's 
Choice), and MDS Genius stand a step 
above the rest. Keep in mind, however, that 
there are many other factors that have an 
effect on readability, such as the character 
set used (look at the NEC MonoGraph's 
beautiful text), the lack of interlacing, and 
the consistency of focusing to the edges 
of the screen. 


Blaek-White Ratio 


NEC Multisync GS 

1:8.4 

ConoVision 2800 

1:8.4 

Princeton LM-300 

1:8.3 

Sigma LaaerView Pius 

1:8.3 

MDS Genius 

1:8.1 

Thomson 980W 

1:7.8 

NEC MonoGraph 

1:7.8 

Cornerstone Vista 1600 

1:7.6 

Moniterm Viking Portrait 

1:7.6 

Taxan Crystal View 

1:7.5 

Monltenn Viking i 

1:7.5 

Princeton LM-301 

1:7.3 

Wyse WY.700 

1:7.3 

Amdek Monitor 1280 

1 7.2 



Siack-and-white monitors are considerably higher in con- 
trast than most print on paper. Light readings of standard 
single-impression black (Xint on flat white paper show a 
black-white ratio of about 1 ;4.S. The average ratio of black- 
and-white monitors is considerably higher, about t :7. The 
low ratio from readings off printed paper occurs because 
light is reflected from the page, while the higher ratio from 
the monitor is due to the bright, directly transmitted flores- 
cence of the screen. 

This high black-white ratio should mean that a biack-arxl- 
white monitor is easier to read than most printed material, 
but during extended use the high brightness of the white 
background migM cause eye fatigue. Most users of black- 
and-white monitors will probably ac^st their screen con- 
trast tor a visually comfortable black-white ratio rather than 
crank them up to maximum white. However, our berxrhmark 
test does provide a useful measure of the relative ability of a 
monitor to deliver high-contrast text and graphics. 


The Black-White Ratio berxihmwk test measures fore- 
ground'background contrast on black-and-white monitors. 

A rTX>nltor with a high contrast ratio between the black let- 
tenng arvj the brightness of the white background on a 
black-and-white screen is considered more readable tor 
text arto graphics design toan a rrKXstor with a low black- 
white ratio. Accordir>gly. the higher bars in the chart indicate 
greater readability. 

Each monitor is adjusted to give the same base reading 
tor a black patch presented on the screen, as measured by 
a Sekonic Oigi-Spot light meter held to the glass surface of 
the screen and set to read a 1 -degree area of view. Then 
the brightness level of a white patch is measured and the 
black-white ratio Is calculated based on the two readings. 
Although some monitors are capable of producmg higher 
white readmgs. the higher figures conw at the expense of 
blackness, which shifts toward gray as the white level is 
Increased. For this reason all monitors are adjusted to the 
same black level. 


PC M A C't A Z I N h ■ M A R C H : y. 1 V K S 
158 



Announcing 

MegaTrendf2 20" VGA Monitor 


Ybu see more because the phbire's 



Bigger Display 

Imagine squeezing this 20" display 
into a 12”, 14" or Iff' monitor 
as indicated by the black lines. . 
it wouldn't be a pretty sight. 


BrigMer picture 


More brilliant colors 


Sharper details 


Easier tilt/swivel 


Smaller footprint 


MegaTrend/2 VGA monitors are the 
perfect complement to today's high- 
resolution color graphics. Their big 20" 
screens provide all the detail you need 
for CAD, business presentations and 
desktop publishing. 

More viewing comfort 

You can get comfortable quickly with 
MegaTrend/2. Its big .31mm, high- 
contrast, anti-glare CRT lets your eyes 
relax while viewing the finer details. The 
lightest touch tilts and swivels the 
monitor for the right view. Complete 
front panel controls make it easy to 
operate. And the small footprint fits 
easily on your desk. 

More enclosures and a touchscreen 

MegaTrend/2 monitors work in places 
other than your desk. If you've got a 


tough environment, choose from 
industrial rack-mount enclosures or 
hardened enclosures for the shop floor 
built to NEMA-2, 4 or 12 standards. 

For the smoothest interface, choose 
from our many touchscreen options. 
Nothing's quicker or more natural for 
interactive applications. 

More standard features 

MegaTrend/2s feature everything you'd 
expect in a top-of-the-line monitor. Plus 
a few things you wouldn't. Its patented 
pcr/ver supply automatically adjusts to 
power irregularities so you don't worry 
about where you plug it in. And special 
video circuitry automatically maximizes 
brightness for each display while pre- 
senring the CRTs life. These are things 
Intecolor has learned in over 15 years 
of building color displays. 


More value 

MegaTrend/2s give you more of every- 
thing you expect in 20-inch monitors. 
And at $1995 for the MegaTrend/2 
(VGA) and $1895 for the MegaTrend 
(EGA), you can't find better viewing 
value anywhere. Call Intecolor now at 
404-449-5961. After all, you need more. 


S9 Intecolor 

Graphics on Display 

225 Scientific Drive, Norcross, GA 30092 
404/449-5961 ■ FAX 404/446-6972 

MegaTrend and Me9aTrend/2 are trademarks of 
Intecolor Corporation. 


CIRCLE 279 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 


doesn’t ring a bell." It's really a Moni- 
term. the most popular high-resolution 
monochrome display for value-added re- 
sellers (VARs). 

No apologies need be made for using 


the Moniterm monitor because it’s certain- 
ly one of the best currently available. In 
this guise, it pushes the display’s resolu- 
tion to 2.880 by 720 pixels, and I can’t 
help wonder when some VAR will find the 


true limits of this versatile display. 

The monitor is advertised as a 19-inch 
diagonal, and that’s exactly what my ruler 
measured. As large as that picture tube 
may sound, the exterior dimensions of the 
attractive metal enclosure are surprisingly 
compact. 

For such a large display area, it is also 
relatively light in weight. Unfortunately 
the level of glare from the big screen is rel- 
atively high, and a screw-in rear foot offers 
the only way to compensate for backlight- 


■ The 2800’ s text 
mode is a perfect 



compromise between 
size and comfort. 


■ 800 X 600 SUPER HIGH RESOLUTION ■ 300% FASTER 

■ 16 SHADES ON MONO MONITORS ■ PS/2 VGA COMPATIBLE* 

FEATURES 


• IBM PC/XT. AT. PS/2 Model 30 compatible 

• Emulates IBM EQA/CGA/MDA and Hercules 

• No preboot software: automatically switches 
among EQA. CQA and Hercules modes 

• Proprietary high speed turbo scheme increa- 
ses video speed up to three times 

• Shading capability allows EGA. CGA software 
to be displayed on monochrome monitors 

• 80 X 66 full page display for wordprocessing 
and desktop publishing 

• Minimum number o' wait states for high speed 
systems 

• FREE 800 X 600. 640 X 480. 132 column soft- 
ware drivers for popular application programs: 
WINDOWS. LOTUS 123. Framework. Word- 
star. WordPerfect. Ventura. Pagemaker. Auto- 
CAD, GEM, ANSI. Screen Saver, etc. 

• Support for DR. HALO III, Generic CAD. CAD- 
KEY. PROOESIGN. etc. 


FEA'a'RES 


oniAi 



900X600 

16 COLORS 

V 




640X490 

16 COLORS 


V 



16 SHADES ON 
MONOCHROME 

✓ 




HICK SPEED 

TURBO 

✓ 




VGA 

COMPAT1BU 


V 



327% DISPUY 
(MOD 2 - 9) 





132-COLtlMN 

IMSPLAY 

V 




90X66 

FULL PACE 

V 




AUTOswrrcH 

V' 





■ FCC Class B • One Year Warranty a Made in USA 


TERMINAL EMULATIONS 


• IBM 3276/3279 terminal emulation (MOD 2. 3. 
4. 5) for Attachmate. CXI. OCA(IRMA), FORTE. 
ITi. Microplus coax, and SDLC cards/programs 

• VT100/VT 220. Tektronix 401X terminal emu- 
lation supports for DCS. WRQ. KEA. etc. soft- 
ware. 

IBM. PS/2. Hercules. LOTUS. Aurocad.efc. ere 
reg/slered (rade/narks of ihoir respecnve companit$ 

• Modes 1 1h and 12h 


systems, inc 

1977 OToole Avenue. Suite SBlOS 
San Joea. Cakfomia 9Si3i 
(406) 435-0707 
FAX (408)922-0433 



ing problems. The only controls are the 
back-mounted brightness control and pow- 
er switch. 

As good as the monitor is, it is some- 
thing of a mixed blessing when teamed up 
with the ConoVision 2800 display adapter. 
The problem can be summed up in a single 
word: interlacing. Conographic achieves 
its high resolution by alternating the hori- 
zontal refresh lines in each pass of the vid- 
eo image. 

SHIMMERING IMAGE While this 
scheme allows a sharp image, the short- 
persistence phosphor of the picture tube 
makes DTP (more so than CAD) images 
shimmer considerably. It’s not enough to 
make the monitor uncomfortable to use, 
but many other displays similar to this one 
offer comparable resolution with rock- 
steady displays. 

More in its favor, the display adapter 
exhibits above-average workmanship and 
versatility. Ba.sed on the Motorola 68B45 
controller, it comprises a full-length board 
with a similar-size daughtercard holding 
5 1 2K of video memory and the printer in- 
terface circuitry. Although graced with a 
couple of wire jumpers, it is devoid of the 
usual DIP switches and configuration 
jumpers. 

■The best news about the ConoVision’s 


CIRCLE 117 ON READER SERVICE CARD — 

PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
160 


At last getting organized 
is painless with Nutshell Plus 



In the past, when choosing a database, you had 
to sacrifice ease of use for power, and flexibility for 
programming skills. 

I'Jo more. 

Nutshell Plus offers you the simplicity of file man- 
agers with the potency of relational technology to 
streamline management of your business information. 

While there are relational databases with program- 
ming capabiiity, they're not for everybody. Not everyone 


wants to-or knows how to-program special routines 
to suit in-house needs. 

What's needed is a database for the rest of us. 

Imagine that instead of creating a monstrous single 
file of data, you can create logically linked files that 
pull related data from one to another, saving you time 
and keystroking, and preventing errors from redundant 
data entry. You don't have to program, but you can 
create macros. 



Move data from file to file automati- 
cally by linking up to 10 field pairs. 

Here a unique account number links — — * 
the Client File to the Order File, and a 
Product Code links the Product File to 
the Order File. 


Create customized layouts to suit your 
information needs and lit your busi> 
ness forms. Here are two layouts m 
one file; an Order Entry Screen and an 
Invoice to fit continuous-form paper. — 


Format data as you wish, including 
optional use of dollar sign and number 
of digits m numbers, left and right justi- 
fication of data, and five ways of dis- 
playing the date 


Nutshell Plus is leatures-rich. With it, you can also: 

• Create a form letter in a field 

• Print to screen to preview the exact appearance of 
your data 

• Insert the current date and time with one keystroke 

• Change field type 

• Eliminate empty space between and within records 
when printing 

• Preset data to avoid rekeying of repetitive data 

• Use the exponentiation operator in calculation 


formulas 

• Read files you created with Nutshell, its flat-file 
cousin 

Visit your nearest retail dealer and try the Nutshell 
Plus Guided Tour Disk, then buy Nutshell Plus. 

At $295 we think you'll find a lot to like. 

For the name of your nearest dealer carrying 
Nutshell Plus, call the Canterbury International Sales 
Office at 1 -800-637-8385 (outside of Massachusetts) 
or (617) 881 -7404 in state. 


Nutshell Plus runs on the IBM and IBM- 
compatible PC. XT. AT. and PS/2s. It 
requires 384K and DOS 2.0 or higher. 


CANTERBURY 

\ntermtioi.a „ 

Distributor of microcomputer hardware and software 


Nutshell is a registered trademark of 
Nashoba Systems, Inc. 


CIRCLE 248 ON READER SERVICE CARD 







■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 


display board is that i( fully emulates the 
Hercules Monochrome Graphics Adapter, 
the only non-IBM display mode that is 
supported by virtually all of the major soft- 
ware packages. 

Although it doesn't quite cover the en- 
tire display area (it measures about 1 5 'A 
inches diagonally), the display is quite leg- 
ible. Besides, overly large presentations of 
conventional text images (for me, at least) 
require excessive eye/head movement to 
read. The ConoVision 28(X)’s text mode 
seems like a perfect compromise between 
size and comfort. 

The characters themselves are maned a 
bit by obvious horizontal lines between the 
individual pixels. A better image could be 
produced if the monitor's additional reso- 
lution were used to create fully-formed 
characters. 

The bottom line is that if you can toler- 
ate the slight (but perceptible) interlace 
shimmer when using graphics-based prtv 
grams. then the versatile utility of the 
ConoVision 2800 makes it eminently suit- 
able as a high-performance, single-moni- 
tor solution for a wide variety of video ap- 
plications. 

CORNERSTONE 
TECHNOLCKJY INC. 

Cornerstone Vista 1600 

Mass. No, I'm not referring to the reli- 
gious ritual, but rather to the property that 
Sir Isaac Newton theorized about in the 
process of making a name for himself. 
Some objects are synonymous with pon- 
derous mass: the earth, the QE2, and late- 
fifties Cadillacs (those with billboard-size 
tail fins). Add a new name to the list: the 
Cornerstone Vista 1600. 

After narrowly avoiding several herni- 
ated disks among my lumbar vertebtae 
wrestling the Vista 1600 up a flight of 
stairs. I unpacked it to find a monitor of 
only average physical dimensions for 19- 
inch displays. Smaller than the 20-inch 
Thomson and larger than the 19-inch 
ConoVision, it is far heavier than either of 
these rivals. It tipped my parcel scale at a 
whopping 56 pounds. 

Part of this is the result of the double- 
construction cabinet. In its quest to sup- 
press radio frequency (RF) interference. 
Cornerstone has one perforated box within 


another. Despite these heroic efforts, the 
$2,395 Vista 1600 carries only FCC Class 
A certification, making it suitable for use 
only in office environments. This isn't 
likely to be a problem, because the high 
cost alone of all of these monitors will en- 
.sure that few will make it into the average 
home. 

The manual advises placing the moni- 
tor on a sturdy desk or table. I'll add one 
more caveat: don't place a PC between it 
and that desk. I wasn't willing to risk my 
AT to find out whether its case was strong 
enough to withstand the burden, and 


you're well advised to do likewise. 

Leaden weight aside, the Vista l6(X)'s 
display image leaves little to be desired. 
Having an actual l8'/4-inch diagonal, the 
large screen makes the best use of the 
graphics-based software for which it was 
designed. Its 1 ,600- by 1 ,280-pixel resolu- 
tion produces razor-sharp AutoCAD im- 
ages, and the contrast level is exceptional- 
ly high. 

IMAGE REMAINS SHARP Linear dis- 
tortion is conspicuously absent, and the 
image remains sharp right to the comers. 



PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
162 



Road test a Buick in your home. 













It's actually possible with Buick 
Dimension, a free home com- 
puter program in disk format 
that contains all the facts and 
figures on the exciting line of 
new 1988 Buicks. 

Get your first giimpse of 
Reotta, Buick's luxury 2-seater 
car. Find out about the totally 
new Buick Regal with seating 
for six. 

There are illustrations with 
amazing graphics that move; 


complete specifications; 
option packages and stand- 
ard equipment and pricing 
information. 

Using Buick Dimension is 
easy. All it requires Is a 512K 
Apple Macintosh; or IBM PC, 

XT, AT (or compatible) with 512K 
RAM memory and CGA. You 
can print hard copies of your 
own personalized spreadsheet 
and price sticker. 

To get your free copy, fill out 


The Great Americxin Rcxid 


the business reply card or write 
to Buick Distribution Center, 
CIO ADCOM, 6845 Dix Street, 
Detroit, Michigan 48209-9990. 
Indicate Macintosh 400K or 
800K disk, or IBM, Offer good 
while supply lasts. 



OFFCIAI. CAR OF THE 1988 us. OLVMPC TEAM 


belongs to Buick. 



Apple and Mocintosh ore registered trodemarks of Apple Computer. Inc. IBM Is o registered trodemork of Interrtotional Busirtess MocMrtes Corp. 


CIRCLE 258 ON READER SERVICE CARD 




■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 


PageMaker and Ventura Desktop Publish- 
er aficionados will appreciate the flicker- 
free noninterlaced display, as well as the 
way the video image updates with consid- 
erable alacrity . 



FACT 


FILE 


Cornerstone Vista 16<M) 

Cornerstone Technology Inc. 

175A E. Tasman Dr. 

San Jose. CA 95I.T4 
(408)4.VV16{K) 

List Price: S2.395 

Requires: Full-length slot. iX)S I or later. 
In Short: Perhaps it dcx’s weigh us much as a 
Buick. but its performance is strictly first- 
rate. The beautiful Windows image is com- 
plemented by capable CGA and MDA emu- 
lation. making it a very gtxxl choice for 
everyday use. 

circle 992 ON READER SERVICE CARQ 


With such a vast display area and high 
resolution, displaying two full pages of 
DTP text won't send you hunting for a pair 
of bifocals. For normal applications, the 
ability to function in both CGA and MDA 
modes makes the Vista an excellent choice 
as the principal monitor on your system. 
Frankly, the sharp, fully-formed (albeit 
boxy) characters will quickly spoil you, 
and you're not likely to miss having color 
for a minute. 

In either conventional mode, the image 
consists of a centrally located 1 3-inch (di- 
agonal) image. The di.splay's only nega- 
tive point is the high level of glare from 
background lighting that has become the 
norm for paper-white monitors. A novel 
rear foot on the cabinet (a rectangular plas- 
tic block with an eccentrically located piv- 
ot point) allows only a very limited amount 
of tilt to alleviate the glare — not really 
enough to be of much help. 


The Motorola 6845-based controller 


board is a model of clean design, and it is 
partly responsible for the Vista's fine per- 
formance. Exploiting the full 16-bit bus 
structure on the AT helps explain the fast 
video image updating. For PCs and XTs, 
the board automatically switches for their 
smaller (and slightly slower) 8-bit bus. 

OUTSTANDING CONSTRUCTION 

Construction quality is outstanding, with 
all components on the mistake-free moth- 
erboard firmly soldered into place. A 
smaller daughtercard is also soldered onto 
the main board, and it is populated entirely 
with surface-mounted devices. A single 
bank of eight jumpers is used to configure 
the emulation mode and to determine 
whether a second monitor is used on the 
same CPU. 

Software drivers are supplied for Auto- 
CAD, Microsoft Windows, GEM, and 
Ventura Desktop Publisher. Sadly, a driv- 
er to use the increased resolution with 


BSI HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTERS 



For orders only, call toll free ; 

1 - 800 - 872-4547 

BSI customer support center 

( 818 ) 442-7038 

DMl«r Inquiry Wulcom* 



9440 Telstar Ave.. Suite 4 
B Monte. CA 91 731 
Tel : (818) 442-0020 


• Laptop portable AT 

• CRT portable AT & XT 

• LCD portable XT 

• Desk top AT & XT 

are available, please call for prices. 

All BSI systems are backed by a one year 
limited warranty. 



BSI 3S6 System 

• 1 6 MHz microprocessor 

• 2 MB 32-blt memory on main board 

• One 32-bit er^nslon slots 

• Socket for 80287 math co-processor 

• Floppy/hard disk controller 

• One 1 .2 MB floppy disk drive 

• 40 MB hard disk drive 

• Enhanced 101 -key keyboard 

• Monochrome graphics card with printed 
port 

• Serial/parallel port 

• 200 Watt power supply 

$2,995.00 


LCD Portable 286 AT 

• 6/10 MHz 80286 processor 

• 640K memory on main board 

• New supper twist LCD with backlit and 
Reverse; 640 X 200 dots; 80 X 25 
characters 

• Monochrome/color graphics card for 
external monitor 

• Socket for 80287 math co-processor 

• Floppy/hard disk drive 

• Serlal/parallel/clock-calendar 

• One 1 .2 MB floppy disk drive 

• 20 MB hard disk (40 MB option) 

• 12 function AT style keyboard 

$1,775.00 


i8M/PC AT, XT vadarrwks d imarreMral Busniam Corp 


CIRCLE 2% ON READER SERVICE CARD 


PC MAGAZINE B MARCH2 9. 198U 
166 




V 


W/MCC 

4PL-n) IT » 

' - 385 1 1 85/38^ ll 

495 n J 

087 B 82/V^ 4 

■38^ 

.-80^-97 

4.B87.36 
318 81 
1G6.23 

* * *^11^ 2 

'11/97 

.'22/97 

3.^. 35 

1.356,32 





t%y?n 

2.864 58 



Business managers now are projecting 
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'Call for availability. IBM, PS/2, OS/2 are registered 
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CIRCLE 263 ON READER SERVICE CARD 




■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 


/-2-J wasn't available, but given the bril- 
liant image running under Windows, I 
would be tempted to suggest a copy of Mi- 
crosoft Excel instead. 

The documentation supplied with the 
review unit was certainly among the best. 
It strikes a good compromise between 
technical thoroughness and simplicity. 
The one flaw was in the instructions for the 
installation program, which has been up- 
dated more recently than the manual. The 
instructions call for running VIPREP. but 
the latest version has been renamed to 
PGPREP. 

Through its excellent video image with 
graphics-based programs and its ability to 
handle everyday text applications with 
aplomb, the Cornerstone Vi,sta 1 600 is one 
of the better paper-white monitors around. 
Just be sure to enlist the help of a friend 
who looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger to 
help you get it out of the box and onto your 
desk. 


MICRO DISPLAY SYSTEMS INC. 

MDS Genius 

Micro Display Systems’ $1,795 portrait- 
format monitor, the MDS Genius, exhibits 
the polish one would expect given its 2 
years of maturity (an eternity for these 
products). MDS claims that the Genius is 
compatible with over 150 major software 
packages, and, while we didn’t have an 
opportunity to try every one, it did perform 
well with those we ran. 

The monitor housing itself is roughly 
cubic in shape, and the beige plastic case 
seems somewhat larger than it needs to be. 
On the front panel are controls for both 
brightness and contrast; curiously missing 
is a power switch. Instead, the permanent- 
ly attached 3-foot power cord on the back 
is intended to be plugged into the PC’s ac- 
cessory power plug on the back of its pow- 
er supply. 

The monitor’s base has a limited 


amount of adjustment available for tilt, but 
not for swivel. The limits of travel are real- 
ly not enough to be significant, and it 
wasn’t particularly helpful in eliminating 
background glare from the shiny display. 


«FACT FILE 


MDS («eniu.s 

Micro t)isplav Systems Inc. 

1310 Vermillion St. 

Hastings. MN 55033 
(612)437-2233 
List Price: $1,795 

Requires: Full-length slot. DOS 2.1 or later. 
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CIRCLE 287 ON READER SERVICE CARD 




Why you should 
buy the mouse with 
no moving parts. 


Several reasons. No moving parts. No problems. 

The PC Mouse has no moving parts. It is an opti- 
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it has a Lifetime Warranty. Other mice, like the ones 
from IBM and Microsoft,* have a rolling ball, bearings 
and shafts and lots of other moving parts. Which make 
a mechanical mouse less reliable. Less accurate. 

The PC Mouse gives you digital accuracy and 
superior software compatibility. PC Mouse works with 
any software package written for use with a mouse 
and quite a few that aren’t. Designer Pop-up' menus 
come FREE with every PC Mouse. Designer Pop-up 
menus include over 20 pre-configured menus for the 
most popular software programs, like Lotus 1-2-3. 

CIRCLE 350 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



You also get an easy to use application so you can 
create your own menus for software programs not 
originally designed to use a mouse. 

The PC Mouse from Mouse Systems comes in 
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our NEW PC Mouse for the IBM 
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Personal System/2 is a tmdeniark of International Business Machines Corp. Microsoft is a registered trademark Microsoft Corp. 
Mouse Systems is a registered tmdemark and Designer Pop-up is a trademark of MSC Teckmitogm, fnr. 



■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 



The vcieran MDS 
Getlius portrait 
monitor has accrat'tl 
an iniprt'ssivt' set of 
drivers and claims 
support for over 150 
application 
pnti’rams. ItsH- hy 
l(T/\-ineh screen 
area offers a flicker- 
free noninterlaced 
inuiite. 


The Genius is advertised as having a 
true H'A- by 1 1 -inch display area, but a rul- 
er proved this figure to be a bit infiated. In 
real life, the display measures 8 by IO-Vk 
inches, with a diagonal measurement of 1 
inches. That may not seem significant, but 
with 66 lines of characters on the screen, 
those plagued by myopia will be quiekly 
reminded of how long it's been since their 
latit eye exam. 

Fortunately, the standard serif character 
set, similar to that of the IBM MDA adapt- 
er, is legible despite its size. Furthermore, 
the noninterlaced image, with its 60-kHz 
refresh rate, is entirely flicker-free. 

The maximum contrast and brightness 
levels of which the Genius is capable 
seemed to be lower than those of many 
other monitors. Consequently, when the 
brightness level was turned up relatively 
high, the black background became a rath- 
er washed-out gray. Nonetheless, image 
quality remained sharp to the comers, and 
no linear distortion or character smearing 
occurred. 

The image was particularly gratifying 


while running Windows applications like 
PageMaker. Here, the black text on a 
white background was especially crisp and 
legible. 

Software support is certainly one of the 
Genius's strongest points, with drivers 
.supplied for not just Windows applica- 
tions, but also GEM and HALO. Also, the 
manual provides instructions for modify- 
ing several popular programs to take ad- 
vantage of the 66-line capabilities of this 
monitor. Among them are WordPerfect, 
XyWrile III Plus, WordStar (Versions 2.4 
through 3.4). WordStar 2000 and 2000 
Plus, Volkswriter. Lotus's Symphony and 
1-2-3. MultiPlan. and Borland's "Turbo 


Pascal, SuperKey, wnA Lightning. 

The 1-2-3 instmetions provide for two 
modifications, depending on your particu- 
lar need. In the first, the program is 
changed to allow the display of 66 rows of 
spreadsheet cells in strictly text mode (as it 
would appear on an MDA display). In the 
second, the program can be modified to al- 
low one half of the screen to display 25 
tows of cells, while the other acts as a 
CGA-compatible display of graphics im- 
ages on the same screen. 

Unfortunately, these program patches 
ate not made automatically from a menu 
but rather by using DEBUG, that fxrwerful 
yet potentially dangerous program on your 
DOS disk that allows changes to be made 
to executable code at the byte level. The 
instmetions ate quite complete, but defi- 
nitely not for novices. Never attempt to 
make modifications on the original 
disks — only on backup copies. 

CAN WASTE DISPIAY AREA For pro- 
grams not specifically adaptable to the 66- 
line mode of the Genius, the system also 
emulates IBM MDA or CGA monitors, 
but much of the display area is wasted. A 
device driver (VHR_ANSI.SYS), in- 
stalled from the CON FIG, SYS file, allows 
all 66 lines to be available to DOS, but not 
to most unsupported programs. 

A utility program, VHR.COM, allows 
selection of cursor style, display mode, 
and more. It can be invoked from within 
the AUTOEXEC.BAT file or from the 
DOS command line. 

Rounding out the package is the display 
adapter, and the board design group can 
take pride in the fact that, even in revision, 
it lacks any wire jumpers or cut tracings. 
Devoid of a video coprocessor, it relies in- 
stead on the host CPU for display activity. 

The full-length board has a two-thirds- 
length daughtercard attached by seven sin- 
gle in-line pin (SIP) headers. The 8-bit bus 
tab works perfectly in PC and XT CPUs, 
but the lack of automatic switching pre- 
cludes its use in any slots but numbers 1 
and 7 in an AT. Be warned before plug- 
ging the adapter into an older PC. howev- 
er. because it requires 15 watts of power 
from the CPU's power supply. If you still 
have an original 65-watt supply, you may 
be in for trouble. If you can afford this dis- 
play system, you should also be able to af- 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
170 


Discover. The only 
scanning system smart 
enough to know 
a Rose is a Eose. Is a 


D iscover recognizes a rose when it sees 
one. It can be in any of thousands of 
different type styles and sizes* — styles and 
sizes other scanners simply cannot read. 
Discover can read a rose that’s in text or 
graphics, whether it’s typeset or laser-printed. 

Discover will read them all and 
enter them into your personal 
computer. Without retyping. 

Of course, a lot of scanners 
claim to do this. But the truth is 
that most scanners can only 
read “anything” if it’s clearly 
typed in a handful of type styles 
and sizes. Which means that 
they can only do part of the job 
you need done. 

Discover, on the other hand, reads virtually 
all the “real-world” information you receive 
everyday. Even third generation photocopies 
with broken, touching or blurred letters. And 
Discover enters all this, plus graphics and 
images, into most word processing, data 




BSCCVER 


The World's Smartest 
Scanning System. 


base, desktop publishing M or other PC 
programs.* Quickly and r accurately. 

And that will save you an enormous 
amount of time and money. Because up to 
55% of your keyboard time is wasted in re- 
typing.* And there’s nothing smart about that. 

How does Discover make life 
so easy? With artificial 
intelligence-based software run- 
ning on an independent 32-bit 
computer installed in your PC.* 
Naturally, Discover can work in 
the background while you work 
concurrently in other applica- 
tions. That’s productivity none of 
the other scanners can match! 

As Editor’s Choice 
and a Finalist for 1987 Product Of 
The Year, no wonder PC Magazine 
said Discover was close to a 
miracle. 

Now, the smartest thing you can do is 
discover the difference. Call 1-800-843-8031 . 


PC 


EaiORS 

ICHOgEl 


*8 to 24 point. Source; Technomic ConsuMartts. >r>c., March S, 1967. MS/DOS, IBM PC, 
AT. XT or Compatible, 
e 1968 Kurzweil Computer Products 


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CIRCLE 148 ON READER SERVICE CARD 





■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 


ford to upgrade to a 1 ,350-watt XT-style 
power supply. 

The MDS Genius may be the oldest 
portrait monitor reviewed here. Because of 
the software it supports, however, this ma- 
turity is an asset. 

MONn KRM CORF. 

Moniterm Viking I 
Moniterm 
Viking Portrait 

Moniterm covers all the monochrome 
monitor bases by offering three styles of 
paper-white display: a 19-inch landscape 
unit, a 1 9-inch portrait, and a 24-inch land- 
scape version. The one you choose will de- 
pend on the type of application you intend 
to use. 

VTKBNG I Moniterm has to be proud of 
this monitor. After all. the Viking 1 ap- 
pears in these tests under not only the Mon- 
iterm name, but under those of two value- 
added resellers as well: Sigma and 
Conographic. Something of a chameleon, 
the Viking I assumes whatever character is 
bestowed upon it by the different control- 
ler boards and software. 

Advertised as 19-inch diagonal, the 
$2,395 Viking I is one of the few displays 
that measures up to its maker's claim. And 
despite its size, its cabinet is surprisingly 
compact. In fact, it is only slightly larger 
than that of most 15-inch monitors. How- 
ever. if for .some reason you need a bigger 
landscape monitor still, Moniterm also of- 
fers the Viking I in a 24-inch version. 

The front plastic bezel is only slightly 
larger than the picture tube itself. The bal- 
ance of the cabinet is made of beige-col- 
ored stamped steel, probably in the interest 
of reducing radio-frequency (RF) emis- 
sions. Notwithstanding its metal construc- 
tion, the Viking I is comparatively light at 
35 pounds — a far cry from the 56-pound 
ConoVision. 

The brightness control knob is rather in- 
conveniently located on the back of the 
case along with the power switch. For the 
latter, however, there is a good reason: the 
controller board is actually powered by the 
monitor rather than by the PC's power sup- 
ply. Because of this, the monitor must be 
powered up before (or simultaneously 



Professor Rogers Returns From 


Peru 


With Discovery of Rare Piant 


The Xtoniterm 
Viking Pormiit 
provitley a clear. 
well-iU’ftned display 
with nwiimal glare. 
The uiilils- 

VBIOS.COM allows 
you ut ehange 
certain monitor 
settings or to remove 
the screen frtim 
memory, freeing the 
emnputer for other 
applications. 


with) the PC'. The safest way of ensuring 
this (and recommended in the manual) is to 
leave the power switch on and control both 
the CPU and monitor by a power strip. 

At the rear of the cabinet is a single 
screw-in rear f(X)l intended to adjust the tilt 
angle. It really doesn't offer a great range 
of adjustment, but then little is needed to 
eliminate glare from either Viking's 
screen. I'hese nuxlels are the first of their 
kind to incorporate magnesium fluoride 
coatings (the same process that gives your 
camera lens that curious bluish tinge). The 
result is a substantial reduction in glare, 
with no loss of sharpness that could occur 
with etching. 

Even with a brightly illuminated win- 
dow directly behind me, 1 found reflec- 
tions off the screen to be insignificant. 

Moniterm's video adapter board is 
unique among the products tested here in 
that it is the only one built around Hitachi's 
63484 Advanced CRT Controller 
(ACRTC); the same board is used with 
both the landscape and portrait monitors. 
Construction quality of the board is above 
average, with the ACRTC, ROM, and 
programmable logic array (PAL) chips 


socketed. The remaining components are 
soldered directly to the single full-length 
board. 

Some 40 user-selectable jumpers are 
mounted in eight groups on the board. 
Those used to select an 8- or 1 6-bit bus and 
to determine which type of conventional 
adapter board is coresident are well ex- 
plained in the manual. The remaining 
jumpers, used to select the interrupt re- 
quest and direct memory access, ate not 
explained at all, and accidentally moving 
the wrong ones could get you in trouble. 

The board's reliance on the monitor for 
power is probably done more out of neces- 
sity than for any other reason. During a 2- 
hour session, it became much too hot to 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH’S, 1988 
172 


■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 



touch, presumably because of high power 
consumption. At any rate, it will spare you 
the expense of upgrading the power supply 
in an older PC. 

Moniterm’s rationale for selecting the 
Hitachi 63484 video coprocessor is imme- 
diately apparent upon running any graph- 
ics-based program, especially AutoCAD. 
Here, the ACRTC’s intrinsic commands 
for such operations as area fills, circle 
drawing, zooming, and panning result in 
terrific speed. Admittedly, it has to deal 
with only about two-thirds as many pixels 
as does the Sigma La.serView, which has 
something to do with it; also helping is its 
16-bit bus support, which outraces moni- 
tors that function with only an 8-bit data 
transfer path. In any case, speed is certain- 


ly one of the Viking I’s strong points. 

Of equal importance to DTP applica- 
tions is that the 2,048- by 960-pixel dis- 
play is not interlaced. Consequently there 
is no image shimmer, even with a white 
background. There is absolutely no linear 
distortion, and characters remain sharp 
even in the comers. 

The only shortcoming of the Viking I is 
the unconventional way it handles stan- 
dard text images. Rather than emulating a 
standard video mode, it uses circuitry 
(which Moniterm refers to as the “frame 
grabber”) to intercept the output of a con- 
ventional display board, digitize it, and 
then display that image on the Viking I. 

A 1 2-inch jumper cable routes the out- 
put of the other board (either CGA, MDA, 


or Hercules) to an input connector on the 
Moniterm board's back strap. It works best 
with the Hercules board, with the resulting 
image occupying about two-thirds of the 
screen, but using it with a CGA board re- 
sults in a display area of only 7y4 inches at 
the top center of the screen. Yes, the char- 
acters are sharp and contrasty, but they're 
too small to read without moving uncom- 
fortably close to the monitor. 

Although that is the preferred method 
of mnning conventional programs on stan- 
dard PCs, there is another alternative for 
owners of ATs: the “software frame grab- 
ber.” Part of a RAM-resident video BIOS 
routine (VB10S.COM), it replaces the 
standard video interrupt routine to allow 
screen updates directly to the Viking I's 
display. In the process, it also doubles the 
number of pixels illuminated by each char- 
acter, resulting in an image that fills almost 
the entire display area. The processor 



iWfact file 

Moniierm Corp. 

5740 Green Circle Dr. 

Minnetonka. MN 55343 
(612)935-4151 


Moniterm Viking 1 

List Price: S2.39S 

Requires: 5 1 2K RAM; hard disk; iull-tength 
slot; CXjA, MDA, or Hercules video board; 
DOS 2. 1 or later. 

In Short: The landscape monitor of choice 
for the value-added-reseller market, it is sur- 
prisingly compact for its 19-inch display. 

New software greatly improves its ability to 
handle standard DOS applications, but the 
processor overhead that this entails is best tol- 
erated on AT-class machines. 

CIRCLE an ON READER SERVICE CARO 

Moniterm VUdng 

Portrait ^ 

List Price: $2,595 

Requires: 512K RAM; hard disk; full-length 
slot; MDA or Hercules video board; DOS 2. 1 
or later. 

In ^MHt: The portrait monitor finally grows 
up to useful proportions. Openoion with con- 
ventional DOS applications is still not as 
good as it is with its landscape counterpart, 
but the increased display size is better than its 
smaller competitixs. Fw desktop publishing, 
it’s hard to b^t. 

ORCLE an ON READER SERVICE CARO 






PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
173 




■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 


overhead required by VBIOS slows the 
speed at which the video display is updated 
somewhat, but it was certainly acceptable 
running on an 8-MHz AT. 

Owners of older4.77-MHz PCs are dis- 


couraged from using VBIOS unless they 
really need its feanries, as the additional 
overhead slows most programs on those 
systems to a crawl. 

VBIOS.COM also has software 


“The (Chicony) keyboard achieves a touch 
that is the closest to the official IBM JeeL". 

PC Magazine (Sep. 29, 1987) 

“It (Chicony Keyboard) also stood out as 
having the nicest touch of any keyboard 
I tried during these tests..." 

PC Magazine (Feb. 16. 1988) 



Hi M I* yiv cMprtw ifiiMi Int PHtet H )Nr kqtart teal M rifkl 
Okmt- w If te iMtfi iHiiit kqtanl ■lo f i rtm . ten jh M 84-kiy poM 
u-sisq te 101-tn NM KB-SI6I| kiytarit wkMi n trfy IIM CT. AT. n/2 
te 3S6 cmpteli ■Nt apter IIM-iWn tack. 



All Chicony keylxtards use genuine 
mechanical key switch technology, not 
rubber or sponge built with springs to 
simulate mechanical switches. This 
provides you with an IBM-alike "click" 
tactile touch or a silent tactile touch. 
Featuring a sculptured Arc-profile 
design, double-injected key caps with 
identifying alphanumerics molded in 
place, not painted on, for extended life, 
and a host of other features, Chicony 
keyboards are the right choice for 
your system. 


To feel the difference fhat a Chicony 
keyboard can make, contact your 
nearest Chicony dealer or call us. 


Chteoiniy’ 

Tlhe Tmot Touch 

Chicony America, Inc. 

1641 W. Collins Avenue 
Orange. CA 92667, USA 
Tel: (714) 771-6151 
Fax (714) 771-3246 


IBM, )CT, AT, PS/2 ve trwtemtrks of IntomattooBi Machines Corp. 


switches that allow you to reverse the 
screen to a black-on-white image, select a 
block or underscore cursor, and remove 
the screen from memory when not needed. 
This last option may be useful when using 
memory-demanding programs or more 
than one RAM-resident program because 
the landscape version uses up 6IK of 
memory for itself. 

Software drivers are included with the 
Viking I for Microsoft Windows, GEM, 
AutoCAD, Ventura Desktop Publisher, 
PageMaker, Lotus 1-2-3, and Symphony. 
The 1-2-3 drivers ensure extended spread- 
sheet display capabilities ( 1 34 columns by 
68 rows) as well as sharper graphics. A 
disk of assembly-language programmer’s 
tools is also supplied should you care to 
write drivers for other applications. 

WordPerfect users will be pleased to 
know that, between that program’s setup 
options and VBIOS, they can display 
screens measuring 160 columns by 60 
lines with no additional driver. 

VIKING PORTRAIT Now take what 
appears to be the same monitor, tip it over 
on one side, and the result is the Viking 
Portrait. Much larger than other portrait 
monitors, it offers legibility others can’t 
match. Aside from the feet, it seems nearly 
identical to the Viking 1. 

Like the Viking I, the Viking Portrait 
has a magnesium-fluoride-coated screen 
that reduces glare to minimal levels with 
no reduction in sharpness. The nongtare 
coating is more important in the portrait 
monitor than the landscape since no provi- 
sion is made for tilting the display, the rear 
feet being permanently fixed. 

A separate version of VBIOS.COM is 
supplied with the Viking Portrait, which 
mimics most of the functions of the version 
used by the landscape unit. One notable 
(and somewhat unfortunate) omission is 
the ability of the software frame grabber to 
double up the pixels used to form the char- 
acters of conventional text. As a result, 
standard DOS images are displayed in a 
fairly small window at the upper-right- 
hand comer of the screen. With the screen 
being as large as it is, though, the display is 
useful but not as good as it could be. 

Start up Microsoft Windows, and the 
Viking Portrait really comes alive. With a 
resolution of 960 by 2,044 pixels and no 


CIRCLE 750 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


PC MAGAZINE 
174 




Rated #1 business graphics package 
second consecutive year. -Soflvwre Digest 



“Positively Best In Show-intowotid 1987 



“They (Harvard Gr^hics)...made 
the best even better.” 


-Jim Seymour, "Best of '87" PC Mogozine 



Winner 1987 National Computer 
Graphics Association Shoot-Out. 


Award Winning Performance. 


There are a number of prestigious 
honors in the graphics business. But 
only one program has captured them 
all. Harvard Graphics. 

Harvard^ flexibility, ease of use, 
and high quality output make it the 
unanimous choice of the nation’s 
leading software evaluators. 


We couldn’t be more honored. 
But Harvard isn’t resting on its laurels. 
New Harvard Graphics 2.1 adds 
a unique spelling checker, over 200 
new symbols, improved editing 
capabilities and more. 

There’s one more recommenda- 
tion we’d like to have. Yours. 

Call for a free trial disk and 


Graduate to New Harvard Gr^hics 2.1 with Spelling Checker. 


For a free trial disk call 1-408-848-4391, Operator 53. 
For upgrade information call 1-800-255-5550. 


c l968SD(t«Knf^mw\gCoipon7iKn19Ulun]mosU.MivWNi>iM039^/2IORunsoftieM><.aroM!)UU!seom|)anws 



let Harvard Graphics demonstrate 

its winning form. 





Unreiouched Photo. 


Buy The One On The Left And Vbu'll Have 
1b Put It Where The Sun Dont Shine. 


The monitor on the right, 
however; can be placed anywhere 
you like. Even in direct suiilight It's 
the new Flat TecktwlogyMonitorbom 
Zenith Data Systems-winner of PC 
Afflgazme's coveted 'Technical Excellence Award" in the 
hardware category for 1987. 

Yon Have lb See Zenith 1b Believe It 

So dear So precise. So lifelike. It's the only monitor 
with a completely flat screen. A breakthrough that has 
redefined monitor quality forever. Industry experts are 
already convinced. And once you see it in person, you'll 
be a believer; too. 

Bigger; Brighter; Glare-Free 

Our Flat Technology Monitor has an impressive 
14 - inch display. And even though it's bigger; it's 50% 
brighter than conventional CRT's and it has 70% 
greater contrast So you get colors with greater depth 
and definition that make your reports, charts and graphs 
come alive like never before. 

The Flat Technology Monitor is virtually glare-free. 
So you can work longer without the usual headaches 



and eyestrain. And that means greater productivity. But 
to get the whole picture, you have to see it with your 
own eyes. 

Backward And Forward Compatibility 

You also get full compatibility with the high 
resolution VGA Video generated by IBM's new PS/2* 
computers. And with Zenith's Z-449 or other VGA-class 
video cards, you can enjoy CGA, MDA, Hercules and 
EGA graphics as well. 

Experience Zenith's Latest Ibchnology Breakthrough 

Obviously, a mere picture can't do justice to our 
new Flat Technology Monitor It demands a face-to-face 
evaluation. For a hands-on demonstration, call today 
for the name of your nearest authorized Zenith Data 
Systems dealer-the Flat Technology Monitor is available 
in quantities right now, 

1 - 800 - 553-0305 


TeMm 


data 

systems 


THE QUALITY GOES IN BEFORE THE NAME GOES ON- 


CIRCLE 373 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


C 1988, Zenith Data Systems 


Personal Systen)/2 and PS/2 are registered trademarks of IBM Corp. 




■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 


interlacing, the display is crystal sharp and 
exquisitely legible. 

Software support for the Viking Portrait 
is currently limited to Windows 1 .0, Page- 
Maker, GEM, and Ventura Publisher, but 
a brief look at a beta copy of the new instal- 
lation program shows that more are on the 
way. That installation menu also had en- 
tries for Microsoft Windows 2.0, Auto- 
CAD, Lotus 1-2-3. Microsoft Word, and 
PC Paintbrush. WordPerfect owners are 
coveted since that application's options, 
along with VB10S.COM, results in a dis- 
play area of 120 columns by 80 lines. 

Moniteim certainly makes one of the 
most versatile monitors around, and its Vi- 
king I system is more than up to the rigors 
of CAD and DTP. The addition of a low- 
glare screen along with VBIOS greatly en- 
hances its utility for standard DOS pro- 
grams as well. Tipped over on its side to 
produce the Viking Portrait, the result is a 
stunning portrait display. 

NEC HOME ELECTRONICS 
(USA) INC. 

NEC MonoGraph 
NEC Multisync GS 

Until recently, there have been two basic 
choices in monochrome monitor display 
formats: portrait versus landscape. Now a 
third alternative is offered in the Mono- 
Graph — the perfectly square display. 

NEC gets the honors for having had the 
insight to build one, and, if my first im- 
pressions of the $1,995 MonoGraph are 
any indication, they had better start beef- 
ing up production-line capacity right 
away. Simply put, the MonoGraph ex- 
celled at desktop publishing; and, with 
conventional applications (particularly 
word processing), every other monitor 1 
tested suddenly became second-best. 

The square format at fust appears to be 
a compromise between the two more wide- 
ly accepted images, but in operation it 
more closely mimics a landscape format 
than a portrait. Consequently, standard ap- 
plications are still limited to the standard 
25 lines of text, but with an important dif- 
ference: rather than stretch the entire video 
image along the vertical axis (characters 
and all), the MonoGraph’s CGA emula- 
tion mode keeps the aspect ratio of the 
characters the same as that of a conven- 


tional CGA board and puts the additional 
space between text lines. Hence, the text 
displayed using programs like WordStar is 
considerably more legible than on any con- 
ventional display, from CGA to VGA, 


It is sold that knowledge is power. 
But when the power blinks, browns 
or blacks out— what do you know? 

Without SAFE bockup power, you'll 
draw a blank. 

Blank screen. RAM data lost. Lost 
files. Maybe for worse. 

You might lose a doy's work. Or a 
critical proposol, an hour before pre- 
sentation. Or all of the data on your 
hard disk if it crashes beyond repair. 

That's what happens when your 
power "blinks" even for just o few 
milliseconds, for shorter then the 
blink of an eye. 

If you depend on your PC's or 
mini's to moke your business run, 
you should insure your data and 


Further enhancing the image with stan- 
dard programs is the pleasing character set 
pnxluced in CGA mode. The additional 
resolution of the display has been used to 
produce fully-formed characters that. 


hardware with SAFE'S backup power 
line. A full line of power protection 
systems for every PC and minicom- 
puter opplicotion. 

SAFE'S intelligent, battery-powered 
systems monitor interruptions and 
respond before you have problems, 
giving you ample warning end up to 
20 minutes to power down, if needed. 

And, SAFE power systems act as 
line filters to protect against spikes 
and surges. They're always charged 
up and reody — just like a backup 
power line. 

The cost? Storting at S395 for a 
PC user. For mini's, under S800. 

For more information or your near- 
est dealer, call (800) 325-5848. 



■^■TO KEEP YOUR DATA, SAFE: 
THE BACKUP POWER LINE THAT NEVER 
BLINKS, BROWNS OR BLACKS OUT. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
177 



WE CREATE SOLUTIONS THAT WORK. 



FIVESTAR 386 

• 64K CACHE MEMORY 

• 1MB 32-Brr MEMORY 

• INTEL™ 80386 CPU 

• DUAL SPEED 6/16MHz 

• LANDMARK 24MHz 

• 200WT POWER SUPPLY 

• EIGHT EXPANSION SLOTS 

• ONE 1.2MB FIOPPY DRIVE 

• ENHANCED KEYBOARD 

• OPERATIONS MANUAL 

• ONE YEAR WARRANTY 

$2495 

MONO SYSTEM 

40MB $3195 
60MB $3395 
130MB $4695 

4MB MONO SYSTEM $3695 


FIVESTAR 286 


• 640K MEMORY 

• INTEL 80286 CPU 

• DUAL SPEED 6/lOMHz 

• LANDMARK lOMHz 

• 200WT POWER SUPPLY 

• EIGHT EXPANSION SLOTS 

• ONE 1.2MB FLOPPY DRIVE 

• ENHANCED KEYBOARD 

• OPERATIONS MANUAL 

• ONE YEAR WARRANTY 


$1295 

MONO SYSTEM 

20MB $1595 
40MB $1795 
60MB $2195 

12MHz MONO SYSTEM $1495 


FIVESTAR XL 


• 640K MEMORY 

• NEC™ V20 CPU 

• DUAL SPEED 4.77/lOMHz 

• LANDMARK 4.1MHz 

• 150WT POWER SUPPLY 

• EIGHT EXPANSION SLOTS 

• ONE 360KB FLOPPY DRIVE 

• ENHANCED KEYBOARD 

• OPERATIONS MANUAL 

• ONE YEAR WARRANTY 


$795 

MONO SYSTEM 

20MB $1095 
30MB $1195 
40MB $1295 


FIVESTAR 
EXPRESS I 

• LAPTOP w/ CARRYING HANDLE 

• 640K MEMORY 

• NEC V20 CPU 

• DUAL SPEED 4.77/9.54MHz 

• LANDMARK 3.1MHz 

• TWO 3.5 INCH DRIVES 

• BACKLIT LCD SCREEN 

• 640 X 200 GRAPHICS DISPLAY 

• SERIAL AND PARALLEL PORTS 

• RGB AND COMPOSITE PORTS 

• RECHARGEABLE BATTERY 

• MS-DOS™ AND DIAGNOSTICS 

• OPERATIONS MANUAL 

• ONE YEAR WARRANTY 

$1295 

COMPLETE SYSTEM 

EXPRESS n 

• 20MB HARD DRIVE 

• EXPANSION SLOT $2495 


Solutloat built on qumlity. 
Every system we sell Is built 
with the highest quality 
components available, fully 
bench-tested and 
certified with a 
48 hour bum-in 
before shipment. 

Solutions built on customer 
support and satisfaction. 

Flvestar Computers maintains a 
staff of hl^ly skilled technicians 
and service representatives to 
answer your questions and to 
help you select the best ^stem 
for your business. And once 


you're up and running, you're not 
forgotten. We’re ready to give you 
fast service and the Idnd of 
support you need to get the most 
out of your Flvestar computer 
system. 

Remember - we're only a phone 
call away. 

Solutions built on nationwide 
service. 

When you purchase a Flvestar com- 
puter system, we can offer you an 
armual on-site service contract for 
less than a dollar a day. This next 
day. on-site service Is firom Momen- 
tum. And It’s good on any Flvestar 
machine regardless of configitratlon. 


Momentum is a nationwide service 
organization with offices In 150 
locations and a twenty year history 
of responsiveness, reliability and 

personalized P 

service to / ^>A 

the elec- / . , 

tronlcs Y • -j 

Industry. 


Our Guarantee. 

Flvestar Computers warrants all 
our products to be free from 
defects in materials and work- 
manship for one year following 
the date of shipment. 



ORDER BY PHONE: Wc accept MSA. M/C, Amn, COO. Caah or Caahter'* Check and approved Corporate and Untverally Purthaae Ordera. 
AD pricea are aubject to chanKe and quanUUea may be luniled. We reserve the nfhl lo aubalUule e«|utvalml Items. 



When you buy a computer system 
from Flvestar. you can be assured 
of not only buying ^ 
the finest quality 
products, but of 
the people and 
the company 
who stand behind 
every system they sell. 

It all adds up to the fact that 
Flvestar Computers are the ones 
that offer you the necessary 
advantages you need to succeed 
In todays competitive business 
environment. 






THATS NOT JUST A PROMISE. IT’S A FACT! 


FIVESTARFS-286 


The Fivestar Fileserver System 


• 640K MEMORY 

• INTEL 80286 CPU 

• DUAL SPEED 6/ lOMHz 

• LANDMARK lOMHz 

• CPU SLOTCARD DESIGN 

• 238WT POWER SUPPLY 

• TWELVE EXPANSION SLOTS 

• ONE 1.2MB FLOPPY DRIVE 


• SERIAL AND PARALLEL PORTS 

• ENHANCED 101 KEYBOARD 

• OPERATIONS MANUAL 

• ONE YEAR WARRANTY 


$1495 


MONO SYSTEM 


40IIIIB $2195 
60MB $2396 
130MB $3695 


FIVESTAR FS-386 


• 2MB 32-BIT MEMORY 

• INTEL 80386 CPU 

• DUAL SPEED 6/ 16MHz 

• LANDMARK 20MHz 

• CPU SLOTCARD DESIGN 

• 238WT POWER SUPPLY 

• TWELVE EXPANSION SLOTS 

• ONE 1.2MB FLOPPY DRIVE 


• SERIAL AND PARALLEL PORTS 

• ENHANCED 101 KEYBOARD 

• OPERATIONS MANUAL 

• ONE YEAR WARRANTY 


$2895 

40MB $3595 
60MB $3795 
130MB $5095 


MONO SYSTEM 



Solutions Built on Quality 



FMfSTAR 

COMPUTERS 


OtT9 jwu boaincM all the adTUtagea of 
Ptraatar qualltj. aorrlce asd avpport. Call F1>aa<ai’ Compotora today. 

TO ORDER CALL TOLL FREE 

Hours: M-F 8-7 and SAT 10-3 CST 

1 - 800 - 752-5555 

In Texas (214) 242-7000 
FAX# (214)242-2336 

A Subaldlafy ol PlwMa/ Etwt f o nW Inc,. Dalla*. Tnuu 


CIRCLE 386 ON READER SERVICE CARD 




■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 



up, the contrast level remains gratifyingly 
high. 

Externally, the MonoGraph is every bit 
as pleasing as its screen image. The stylish 
plastic enclosure surrounds a picture tube 
that measures HVi inches, somewhat 
smaller than the advertised 16-inch diago- 
nal measurement. The power switch and 
brightness controls on the MonoGraph are 
mounted on the front panel. 

A tilt-and-swivel base gives the Mono- 
Graph a surprising range of motion, but 
this precaution really isn’t needed to elimi- 
nate background glare; the Finely etched 
screen is second only to the Amdek’s in 
ensuring a glare-free image in even the 
worst lighting environments. 

Of course, much of the credit for the 
MonoGraph’s outstanding performance 


frankly, are among the few that I would 
gladly stare at all day long. Also, unlike a 
standard CGA display, there is no nicker- 
ing when scrolling through a directory or 
text display. CGA graphics images are 
nearly as pleasing as text nuxle. and all 
color graphics are faithfully rendered in a 
broad spectrum of gray shades. 

The only negative aspect to the CGA 
emulator is that the display scrolls ever-so- 
slightly slower than it would on a standard 
CGA board. However, that seems to be a 
small price to pay, indeed, for otherwise 
outstanding performance. 

But that's just the beginning. Stan up 
Ventura Desktop Publisher or an applica- 
tion that runs under Microsoft Windows 
(like PageMaker), and the MonoGraph 
becomes all the more desirable. The image 
is free of linear distonion and razor sharp 
from the center clear into the comers. Fur- 
thermore, the standard character set for 
PageMaker and Ventura is not only aes- 
thetically pleasing but more legible than 
many others. 

The absence of interlacing is immedi- 
ately apparent, as the video image is free of 
shimmering. The maximum brightness 
level isn’t quite as high as that of the Cor- 
nerstone or Princeton monitors, but it is 
certainly more than adequate. Even with 
the brighme.ss control cranked all the way 


I The square-format 
I NEC MonoGraph 
I lacks drivers for 
I AutoCAD ami Lotus 
j 1-2-3. hut //.? 

I distortion-free 
j image makes it a 
I pleasure to use with 
I desktop publishing 
I programs and 
1 conventional 
I applications like 
I word processing. 


must surely go to the NEC display adapter. 
Based on the Intel 82786 video coproces- 
sor running at 10 MHz, the NEC adapter 
can update the entire 1,024- by 1,024- 
pixel display area in as little as '/to of a sec- 
ond — blink and you’ll miss it. Full support 
for the AT’s 16-bit bus also contributes to 
the display’s fast speed, but it will auto- 
matically shift to 8-bit operation when it is 
installed in an XT. 

Constmction quality of the board is ev- 
ery bit as good as that of the monitor. Most 
of the components on the single full-length 
board are soldered into place, with only the 
coprocessor, ROM, and PAL chips sock- 
eted. Three jumpers select the intermpt 
vector (either 3h or 5h) and determine 
whether another monitor (CGA or EGA) is 
installed on the CPU. 

So what’s to keep from recommending 
the MonoGraph to everyone? Well, there 
are no drivers available yet for AutoCAD 
or Lotus 1-2-3 (though they are under de- 



F A C T 


FILE 


NEC Home Electronics (USA) Inc. 
I25S Michael Dr. 

Wood Dale. IL 60191 
(312)860-9500 


NEC MonoGraph 
List Price: $1,995 
Requires: IBM PC-XT. AT, or 100-percent 
compatible; fiill-iength slot: DOS 2. 1 or lata-. 
In Short: Quite simply, the very best mono- 
chrome display available for conventional 
DOS applications, and an outstanding choice 
for DTP and Windows programs as well . If 
and when AutoCAD and 7-2-3 drivers (cur- 
rently under development) become available, 
it might well send the other manufacturers 
searching for new design teams. Expensive, 
yes — Ixit worth every penny. 

CIRCLE eaO ON flEADCB SERVICE CARO 


NEC Multisync GS 
List Price: $279 

Requires: CGA. MDA, EGA. VGA. or 
Hercules Graphics video board. 

In Short: Versatile as it may be, the Multi- 
Sync GS landscape monitor is clearly out of 
its league amcmg these high-resolution gi- 
ants. However, ensured of an exemption 
from planned obsolescence, it represents a 
reaso^te choice for conventkmal text-mode 
applications. 

CIRCLE m ON READER SERN^CE CARO 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
180 




kensingtonTTI 


Kensington 

CONVENIENCE 


Don't do anything rash. 
Kensington can put you and 
your PC back on good terms. 

1. Our Universal 
System Stand gets your 
CPU off your desk and out of 
your way. Adjusts to fit any 
PC up to 6W wide. $29.95 

2. Our Universal Tilt/ 
Swivel improves the angle 
of your monitor, raising it 2", 
tilting up to 22° and swiveling 
360°. $29.95 

3. Our Printer Muffler 80 
and Printer Muffler 132 

(for 80 and 132 column printers) 
reduce printer noise by 75 to 
85%l Only $69.95 and $89.95 

4. Our Printer Muffler 
Stand raises your printer 
and Muffler 4" for handy 
paper storage. $29.95 

5. Our Universal Copy 
Stand puts your notes next to 
your screen, directly in your 
line of vision. Attaches to either 
side of any monitor. $29.95 

6. And our Keyboard 
Slideaway gives you the ex- 
tra work area you need for your 
keyboard. Slides under your 
PC when not in use. $49.95 

For more information, call 
(800) 535-4242. In NY, call 
(212) 475-5200. Or write 
Kensington, 251 Park Ave. S., 
New York, NY 10010. 


When you got your PC, 
it was love at first sight. 
How did it come to this? 
It's taken over your en- 
tire desktop. You've got 
a crick in your back from 
bending over your mon- 
itor. The noise from your 
printer is driving you 
crazy. You just can't go 
on like this... 




CIRCLE 272 ON READER SERVICE CARD 





■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 



velopment), and the internal cooling fan is 
a bit noisy. Otherwise, it is one of the best 
monitors I've had the pleasure to use. 
Since the MonoGraph was reviewed, NEC 
said it upgraded the monitor's hardware to 
improve performance and rewrote the 
Windows driver. All MonoGraph monitors 
shipped will reflect the changes, 

MULTISYNC GS At the other extreme 
is NEC's new MultiSync GS monitor: at 
$279, it's the least-expensive monitor (by 
a factor of four) that's reviewed here. As 
good as it may be, however, it's in way 
over its head in this clash of the titans. 

Back in 1985, NEC was the first to 
make a monitor that was independent of 
the video display adapter's signal synchro- 
nization frequency when it introduced the 


original MultiSync monitor. Capable of 
operating with anything from a CGA to an 
EGA board, the MultiSync became an in- 
stant hit. 

Shortly after IBM's introduction of the 
PS/2 (with the higher-resolution Video 
Graphics Array), NEC expanded its line to 
include the MultiSync Plus, which handles 
the VGA standard as well as still-higher- 
resolution boards. The biggest problem 
was that these performance increases were 
accompanied by higher prices as well. 

That brings us to the MultiSync GS, a 
monochrome monitor capable of dealing 
with every standard display format from 
the original CGA to the latest VGA 
modes. Like the original MultiSync, all 
you have to do is plug it in, and the monitor 
automatically adjusts to the adapter's hori- 


zontal and vertical scan rates. Hence it can 
deal with video images displaying a reso- 
lution as high as 720 pixels horizontally by 
480 vertically. 

For its tests here, the MultiSync GS 
was operated with both a CGA adapter 
(640 by 200 pixels) and a Hercules-com- 
patible graphics adapter (at 720- by 348- 
pixel resolution). With either display 
adapter, the image used almost all of the 
12 '/ 2 -inch screen area (significantly small- 
er than its advertised 14-inch size). 

SLIGHT DISTORTION A slight 
amount of pincushion distortion (where 
lines along the outer edge bow in) was evi- 
dent. Regardless of the brightness or con- 
trast levels, a significant amount of fuzzi- 
ness could be seen in the comers. 

Externally the MultiSync GS has been 
graced with a nonglare screen along with a 
tilt-and-swivel base endowed with enough 
travel to eliminate even the worst glare 
from background lights. It also has a con- 
trol panel that can best be described as ac- 
cessible but delicate. The top-mounted 
power switch is recessed to prevent acci- 
dental operation, but the controls for 
brightness, contrast, vertical size, and hor- 

■ NEC’s MultiSync GS, 
overall, is a delightful 
monochrome monitor 
for conventional 
IBM-standard monitor 
applications. 

izontal and vertical image position — a se- 
ries of diminutive knobs— are mounted 
beneath a door with a plastic hinge that 
looks like it could break if opened often. 

NEC's MultiSync GS. overall, is a de- 
lightful monochrome monitor for conven- 
tional IBM-standard monitor applications. 
Stacked up as it was against displays with 
as much as six times its display resolution, 
however, its bargain price became all too 
visible. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
182 




MODEL KE-300 


MODEL 1901/TX-1280 


MODEL 3001/MAC 


• HIGHEST QUALITY TEXT AND 
GRAPHICS 

• EMULATES 9 POPULAR PRINTERS 

• 300 DPI FULL PAGE GRAPHICS 

• SCALABLE FONTS TO ANY SIZE 


19 INCH HI-RES DISPLAY 
1280 X 960 RESOLUTION 
INTEL 82786 GRAPHICS 
CO-PROCESSOR 
DUAL PAGE DISPLAYABLE 


• WINEXJWS AND GEM 
COMPATIBLE 

• 64 GREY LEVELS 

• OPTICAL CHARACTER 
RECOGNITION 

• IBM AND APPLE MODELS 
AVAILABLE 



DESKTOP PUBUSHIfSKS DMS»ON: 


TAXAN USA CORPORATION 
18005 CORTNEY a. 
cmr OF INDUSTRY, CA 91748 
(818) 810-1291 (CA only) 

(800) 772-7491 


CIRCLE 504 ON READER SERVICE CARD 







■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 


PRINCK I ON GRAPHIC SYSTEMS 

Princeton LM-300 
Princeton LM-301 

The majority of paper-while monochrome 
monitor manufacturers tend to make a 
choice between portrait- or landscape-for- 
mat displays and tout their product as the 
greatest invention since the automatic 
transmission. 

Not Princeton: it offers both formats, 
and the technical specifications hint at the 
true nature of the products. Both the LM- 
300 (portrait) and the LM-301 (landscape) 
monitors yield resolutions of 1 ,664 by 
1.200 pixels, but along different axes. 
While otherwise similar from the engi- 
neer’s standpoint, from our perspective 
they are more like fraternal twins: you can 
see the family resemblance, but each one 
also has its own unique appearance and 
personality. 


LM-300 Princeton’s LM-3(X) is clearly 
the twin that inherited the Y chromosome: 
it is tall, lanky, and a bit limited in versatil- 
ity. (Being of comparable genetic makeup, 
1 make no apologies for that observation.) 
The LM-3()0 is housed in an attractive 



FACT 


FILE 


PrinceUMi Graphic Systems 
601 Ewing St., Bldg. A 
Princeton, NJ 08540 
(609)683-1660 


Princeton LM-300 
List Price: SI, 500 

Requires: Full-length slot; DOS 2. 1 or later. 
In Short: Given better support for everyday 
applications, this portrait-format monitor 
would be an overall hit. but. as it stands, it is 
better suited to DTP sessions than to anything 
else. 

ClBCLgeaaON READER SERVICE CARD 


Princeton LM-301 
List Price: SI. 500 

Requires: 64K free RAM; full-length slot; 
DOS 2.1 or later. 

In Short: A capable landscape-formal moni- 
tM* best suit^ to CAD and £)TP applications. 
Although it can emulate conventic^ CGA 
and MDA rrxxles, the resulting image is a bit 
too small for everyday use. 

CIRCLE W70N READER SERVICE CARO 



Professor Rogers Returns From 


Peru 


With Discovery of Rare Plant 


The Princeton 
LM-300 portrait 
monitor s screen has 
the same dimensions 
as a standard 
printed page, a ht/on 
for desktop 
publishing users. 
Software drivers are 
limited to Windows 
and GEM. making it 
best suited for use 
with PageMaker ««£/ 
Ventura Desktop 
Publisher. 


light-gray plastic housing, and the display 
has been oriented in portrait format. Both 
brightness and contrast controls are pro- 
vided. kK'ated on the lower-right edge of 
the cabinet, and a till'swivel base helps 
keep glare at bay. 

Compared to the MDS Genius, the en- 
closure is particularly svelte and attractive. 
Although the display suffers from a small- 
er-than-advertised screen size (15 inches 
advertised vs. 13% inches measured), you 
probably won’t care because the image 
measures SVi inches by II inches, the 
same as a standard printed page. The result 
is a true “WYSIWYG” picture with DTP 
programs. 

On the other hand, no driver is supplied 
for CAD programs (which aren’t particu- 
larly amenable to portrait format), and the 
results with normal DOS applications 
(WordStar, for example), are less than 
thrilling. No device drivers or program 
patches are included to enable more than 
the usual 25 lines of text with these appli- 
cations. 

Even though all 66 lines are used when 
displaying a IX)S directory, the image 


isn’t what you might expect. Rather than 
scrolling like a conventional monitor, the 
LM-300 writes 66 lines to the screen and 
then begins writing over the image from 
the top (after leaving a 1-inch clear space) 
of the screen. 

A utility program is included to enable 
scrolling, but operating in that mode is 
considerably slower. Should you care to 
copy the screen contents to the printer, be 
advised that the DOS Shift-PitSc com- 
mand copies only the first 25 lines of the 
display, regardless of what is actually on 
the monitor. 

The LM-300 has a quality image with a 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
184 




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■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 



Princeton Graphic System’ landscape 
paper-white monitor, the LM-30I . 
produces hirth-contrast.jlicker-free 
images and is supplied with a 
comprehensive set of softtvare drivers. 



low glare level and no perceived flicker. 
This display is high in contrast, and char- 
acters remain sharp right to the comers. 
Some pincushion distortion (where lines 
along the outer edges bow in) was present, 
but not enough to matter. 

The display adapter that Princeton uses 
with the portrait monitor, the LaserPage 
adapter, is made for the company by New 
Image Technology, The single full-length 
board shows excellent layout design and 
workmanship, but the lack of a dedicated 
CRT controller makes it a tad slow when 
compared to most of the landscape display 
systems. 

The LM-300 board has 1,200- by 
1 ,664-pixel resolution, resulting in a den- 


sity of 1 50 dots per inch when equipped 
with 5t2K of video memory. Additional 
edge-mounted RAM chips can be added to 
take this up to I MB and increase the dis- 
play density to 300 dots per inch, the same 
as with most laser printers. 

Software drivers currently available for 
the LM-300 are limited to Microsoft Win- 
dows and GEM, making it suitable for the 
two best-selling DTP programs: Page- 
Maker and Ventura Desktop Publisher. 
For those applications, this portrait-format 
monitor is pleasant to use. However, its 
lack of full-screen operation with conven- 
tional applications (especially word pro- 
cessors and spreadsheets) makes it less 
than ideal as the sole monitor on a system. 


LM-301 The LM-301 Is the sibling that 
followed the conservative path into adult- 
hood, which, in this instance, means land- 
scape format. Although it follows an old 
path, the conventional display layout will 
likely prove the more useful of the two for 
the majority of applications. 

Like the LM-3()0. this model is housed 
in a handsome light-gray plastic enclosure, 
and though the display screen is listed as a 
15-inch diagonal, my ruler again shows it 
to measure only IVA inches. This differ- 
ence may seem small, but if someone were 
to make a mismeasurement of nearly 10 
percent in your paycheck, you would cer- 
tainly raise a stink. So much for truth in ad- 
vertising. 

The small display area makes DTP ses- 
sions more difficult than they could be, but 
image quality is certainly up to the task. As 
with the LM-300, glare level was per- 
ceived to be a bit below average, and the 
noninterlaced display image was totally 
flicker-free. No linear distortion was ob- 
served. and the characters remained clear 
right into the comers. 

Of more importance for DTP aficiona- 
dos. though, may be the extremely high 
contrast levels of which the LM-30l is ca- 
pable. Even with the brightness control 
turned up to an uncomfortably bright level, 
the background remained a rich black. A 
similar-quality image was seen when we 
ran a white-on-black application such as 
AutoCAD. 

Again, both brightness and contrast 
controls are provided, mounted on the 
lower-right edge of the display housing. 
Six-foot video and power cables make in- 
stallation to a floor-mounted CPU an easy 
task, and the tilt/swivel base helps elimi- 
nate background glare. 

The display adapter (called the PG- 
1600 and made for Princeton by Corner- 
stone Technology) is above average in 
quality, using only one wire jumper. A 
bank of eight selectable jumpers allows 
you to choose the emulation mode (CGA 
or MDA) for conventional applications 
and also allows coresident operation with 
another monitor on the system. 

One small problem with the CGA and 
MDA emulation modes, however, is the 
small video image. The image utilizes only 
a 9y4-inch area of the screen; it isn’t some- 
thing you would want to use very often. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
186 



The sans-serif characters are also rather 
boxy and generally less legible than the 
standard serif characters created by stan- 
dard CGA and MDA boards, but then 
again they're more attractive. 

The board is based on the Motorola 
6845 graphics coprocessor chip, with ex- 
cellent execution speed running unforgiv- 
ing programs like AutoCAD. Part of that 
speed is attributable to the full support for 
the AT's 16-bit bus. For operation in PCs 
and XTs. the bus automatically adjusts for 
their 8-bit bus architecture. 

A note of caution about the PG-16(X) 
board: it is powered by the monitor, and 
power should be applied to the monitor be- 
fore the CPU . I tried turning them on at the 
same time by means of a powerstrip with 
no problems. 

Software drivers supplied with the LM- 
301 include those for AutoCAD, Microsoft 
Windows, GEM, and Ventura Desktop 
Publisher. There is also a comprehensive 
diagnostic program that can help you dur- 
ing unusual installations, or if you fail to 
read the setup instructions fully. 

Given its reasonable price and high res- 
olution, the LM-301 sHiould prove popular 
for CAD and DTP applications for those 
on a limited budget, but the small display 
area when emulating standard video 
modes makes it merely adequate for every- 
day use with conventional applications. 

SIGMA DESIGNS INC. 

Sigma Laser View Plus 

It would seem that everyone is snapping up 
the Moniterm paper-white monitor in the 
value-added-reseller market, but in all 
honesty, nobody does it better than Sigma 
Designs. The Sigma combination of soft- 
ware and a versatile controller board, in 
fact, make the LaserView seem like an en- 
tirely new pnxluct. But since the Laser- 
View is actually based on a Moniterm 
product, I refer you to that review for a 
physical description. After all, we should 
give credit where credit is due. 

The original LaserView was graced 
with one of the highest resolutions avail- 
able for the PC ( 1 .664 by 1 .200 pixels), 
making it perfect for CAD programs. Un- 
fortunately, its inability to handle standard 
DOS text meant that a second monitor was 
a necessity. 



Since our Ui.st reviews. Si}itna De.siftns has 
added MOA emulation to its UiserView 
Plus, esreadinfi the monitor's suitahdity to 
include eveiyday applications. The /9-inch 
screen area will please de.skiitp puhUshing 
users. 



But all that has been fixed with the 
$2,395 LaserView Plus, which now emu- 
lates IBM's MDA mode; the credit for the 
transformation goes to Sigma's new video 
controller. Made up of a full-length main 
board with a similar-sized daughtercard at- 
tached, it generally exhibits above-average 
workmanship. Sadly, the board once again 
came with the markings sandpapered off 
most of the integrated circuits. It sure 
would be nice to know just what makes 
this board tick, especially since it runs so 
well. 

The MDA emulator finally allows the 
big display to handle conventional applica- 
tions like word processors and spread- 
sheets. and it works well enough that a sec- 



Sigma LaserView Plus 
Sigma Designs Inc. 

46501 Landing Pkwy. 

Fremont. CA 94538 
(415)770-0100 
Usi Price: $2,395 

Requires: Full-length slot. DOS 2.0 or later. 
In Short: One of the highcsi-performance 
paper-white monitors finally gei.s a new con- 
troller board that can emulate IBM's MDA 
display. What was once a monitor suitable 
only to DTP and CAD is now suit;d)le for 
conventional software as well. 

CIRCLE eaaoN fgApen service capo 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
187 


■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 


ond monitor becomes superfluous. The 
characters are fully formed, high-contrast, 
and legible, but not quite as good of those 
on the NEC MonoGraph or Amdek/Wyse 
monitors. The image is displayed in a 14- 
inch (diagonal) area in the center of the 
screen, leaving just over an inch of border 
all around. 

DISPLAY SCROLLING The display 
area is updated reasonably quickly, but 
scrolling through a directory takes a bit of 
getting used to. Rather than scrolling line 
by line, the LaserView Plus jumps two 
lines at a time, no doubt in an effort to 
speed things up. Execution speed is further 
enhanced by exploiting the AT's 16-bit 
bus. but the board will fall back to 8-bit 
mode automatically when installed in a PC 
or XT. 

Of equal importance to owners of older 
PCs is that the board gets its power from 
the monitor, sparing the hassle of having to 
upgrade the anemic power supply on those 
early machines. 

Where the LaserView Plus really ex- 
cels is with AutoCAD. Here, the ultra-high 
resolution (approaching that of Sun and 
Apollo workstations) results in razor-sharp 
white lines drawn on a rich black back- 
ground. Furthermore, the display is free of 
any linear distortion. 

The desktop publishing community 
will no doubt appreciate the Sigma's big 
screen area: that 19-inch area comes in 
handy when designing a two-page layout. 
And because the display is not interlaced, 
there is none of the image shimmer that 
plagues some other monitors and is most 
evident on a white background. 

Software drivers supplied with the La- 
serView Plus include Microsoft Windows. 
GEM, Ventura Desktop Publisher. Auto- 
CAD. Lotus 1-2-3. and Symphony. The 
Lotus drivers use only the higher resolu- 
tion for displaying graphics images, and 
the spreadsheets themselves are limited to 
MDA mode. Also part of the package is a 
copy of Z-Soft’s PC Paintbrush, with a 
driver for the LaserView Plus. It should be 
just the ticket for drawing illustrations to 
be incorporated into DTP layouts. 

All in all, the excellent LaserView Plus 
display system is no longer strictly a spe- 
cial-purpose device, but a monitor that can 
handle most standard applications as well. 


l AXAM SACORP. 

Taxan Crystal View 

Only one monitor received PC Magazine's 
Editor’s Choice when we last examined 
paper-white monitors; Taxan's Crystal 
View. Its competitors have narrowed the 
gap significantly in the intervening 
months, but the big Taxan, though largely 
unchanged, need make no apologies for its 
performance. 

The $2,195 Crystal View's ample dis- 
play screen (listed as 1 9 inches diagonally, 
but measuring a bit smaller, at 18'/2 inch- 
es) is enclosed in an equally immense plas- 


tic case of pleasing lines. Even though its 
45-pound weight caused no damage when 
perched atop an AT, the arrangement did 
look a bit foolish. A better approach would 
be to mount the CPU in a stand on its side 
next to the desk, with only the monitor and 
keyboard on the work surface. To help fa- 
cilitate such an arrangement. Taxan has 
thoughtfully provided 6-foot video and 
power cables. 

A tilt-and-swivel ba.se is incorporated 
into the bottom of the housing with good 
intent: to reduce glare from bright back- 
lighting common in most office environ- 
ments. It helps, but an etched screen ftnish 



PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
188 




Solution To The Year of Confusion 


QIC 286-1 2C The Basic System 

80286-12 running at 8 and 12 MHz, speed selection from the 
keyboard, 0 wail state design, 1 MB , four 1 6-bit and four 8-bit 
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clock/calendar with battery backup. Made in the U.S.A. 

•EGA System $1,870 

•Monographics System $1,500 


QIC 286-8 The Basic System 

80286-8 running at 6 and 8MHz, 5 1 2K DRAM expandable to 
1 024, six 1 6-bit and two 8-bit expansion slots, 1 .2 MB 
floppy/101 key keyboard, combined floppy and hard disk 
controller, 1 92W power supply, clock/calendar w ith battery 
backup. Made in the U.S.A. 

•EGA System ^1x369 

•Monographics System $999 


QIC 286-1 OB The Basic System 

80286-10 running at 8 and 1 OMHz, speed selection from 
keyboard, 0 wall stale design, wail slate configurable, 51 2K 
DRAM expandable lol 024K, six 1 6-bit and two 8-bit expansion 
slots, 1 .2 MB floppy /84 keyboard, combined floppy and hard 
disk controller, 1 92W power supply, clock/calendar with battery 
backup, 2 serial and 1 parallel port. 


•EGA System $1,720 

•Monographics System $1,350 


Call about our Hard disk drives. Modems, Tape Back-ups and 
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•Comes with video adapter and monitor. 


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m MONITORS 


would be most welcome, since the large 
display screen is particularly vulnerable to 
glare. 

Disregarding the Crystal View's im- 
posing physical dimensions, though, it 
can't help but instantly befriend CAD and 
DTP operators. The big screen renders 
graphics-based images such as the.se a.s 
crisply as any, with unusually high con- 
trast. Windows graphics programs, like 
PageMaker, are crisp and legible over the 
entire display area. Image shimmer, a 
common problem with programs that dis- 
play black text on a white background, is 
totally absent, thanks to the noninterlaced 
design. 

Although the resolution is only aver- 
age. at 1 ,280 by 960 pixels, it functions ca- 
pably when displaying two full pages of 
text on a single screen. Not only is the im- 
age accurate in terms of the black-and- 
white image expected from a laser printer, 
but its layout will be faithfully rendered as 
well. 

AutoCAD users will be equally pleased 
with the results. In black-on-white mode, 
there is no smearing of the image, even in 
the comers. Perhaps as important, there is 
no visible linear distoriion. Few things can 
be worse for a designer than to have 
straight lines suddenly develop the curva- 
ture of barrel staves when showing off his 
work to his friends. 


EXCELLENT PRESENTATION The 

Crystal View's sharp presentation is not 
limited to specialized graphics software. It 



Taxan Crystal View 
Taxan USA Corp. 

1 Cortney Cl . 

City of Induslrv. CA 9 1 748 

(8I8)8I()-I29i 

List Price: $2,195 

Requires: I28K RAM: full-length skx; DOS 
3.1 or later. 

In Short: Winner of last year's Editor's 
Choice, the Crystal View is still one of the 
bc.st all-purpose paper-white monitors avail- 
able. 'I'he excellent CGA emulator comple- 
ments its capable perldnnanee with both 
CAD and DTP applications. 

CIRCLE WON READER SLRVlCLCAftO 


ORCLE 336 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


PC MAGAZINE 
190 



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■ MONITORS 


works with similar finesse with ordinary 
EXDS applications as well. The only emu- 
lation mode supported is the familiar CG A 
mode, but that seems more than adequate. 
Large, legible characters are displayed 
from any word processor or spreadsheet 
with all of the high contrast their graphics- 
based counterparts would have. If there is 
any fault to be found with the CGA emula- 
tion mode, it may be that the resulting im- 
age (it fdls the entire viewing area) is actu- 
ally a bit too large — a bit uncomfortable 
when viewed from a typical distance. If 

■ The Crystal View’s 
sharp presentation is 
not limited to 
specialized graphics 
software. It works with 
finesse with ordinary 
DOS applications. 


you’re someone who likes to recline in a 
big rocker with the keyboard on your lap, 
though, it should be just about perfect. 

Intel’s 82786 graphics coprocessor 
serves as the foundation for the "Taxan TX- 
1280 graphics adapter board. That plus the 
single ROM chip are the only socketed 
components, the remaining components 
being firmly soldered into place. A single 
block off our user-selectable jumpers al- 
lows for setting the interrupt request vec- 
tor. Although the board doesn’t exploit the 
AT’s 16-bit architecture (it uses only the 8- 
bit bus structure originally intended for 
PCs and XTs), execution is adequately fast 
when running AutoCAD — a killer if ever 
there was one. For DTP programs, Tax- 
an’s font-caching circuitry makes it com- 
petitive with all the rest. 

One warning for older PC owners: this 
board requires a significant amount of 
power from the PC’s bus; 18 watts, to be 
exact. If you have installed anything at all 
in one of these CPUs (with their paltry 65- 
watt power source), chances are that a 


PC MAGAZINE 
193 


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Show most scanners 
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THE BIG EVENT 

The Marketing Events Newsletter Of The 
CMc Arena Manager 


limut Sumhtr 


Spring iSummtr 1988 


Event Staff Pin 
Big Attendance Figuies On 
Wrestling Matches 

“Let me tell you one thing. Do 
you rcAlly think I care who 1 have to 
beat to a pulp to defend my belt? That 
i.<. if (can find anyone without a wide 
yeller virciik do^vn hit hack to take me 
on. My daddy always said. ’If you 
can't stand the heat, kick out a win- 
dow.' And brother. I see a lot of broken 
glass!" 

The rmnlings of a mad man? 
Perhaps. But '^The Human Sledge- 
Hammer" and do/cas of other wrestlers 
like him are just mad enough to bring 
wrestling fans hy the thousands to civic 
arenas all across the country. 

For many marketing managers 
wrestling matches have become the 
rock concert attractions of the 'Hth. 

"Wrestling is a proven sports attraction," says Bemie Turk, events manager 
fur the Los Angeles County Sports Dome. 

it seems cverylime you flip through the channels on your television, you 
run across u wrestling match. They're on Saturday morning cartoons. You go in a 
toy store and you see their action dolls. People just can't seem to get enough of 
them." 

Industry anendance figures seem to prove Turk's point. 

In the fii^i two months of the year, there were M wrestling matches held in 
the coumry. From a 57.(NN) seal arena in Denver toa 3.000 seat junior college 
gym in KaJeigh. Total attendance for the matches has been estimated to be in 
excess of 5(NMX)0. 

And it doesn't show any sign of slowing down. 

More Facilities Benefiting From Hotel Tax 

Seattle and Bismarck. North convention, meeting and entertainment 

Dakota are just two cities that have facilities. 

passed legislation to enact on “enter* “It's worked wooden for us.“ says 

tainmeiM tax." Hotel and motel Linda Connell, the chairperson of the 

rooms, along with restauranu. add a Bismaivk Meetings Group. “The 
surcharge to each customer's bill to amount of the tax. which varies depend- 

help finance improvements to public ing on the item taxed, hasn't affected 



us negatively in any way at all." 

"We were a little leery at first of 
visitors complaining about dK tax. but 
it's so little no one seems to realty 
notice. But even (hough it scents small, 
it really adds up quickly." 

How has the lax helped Bismarck? 

"Very well." according to Con- 
nell. “This spring we'll be firuincing 
over 15,000 new square feet of exhibi- 
tion space for our convention center. 
Thai's space that otherwise wouldn't 
have been available. Unless we passed 
a bond issue — which never seems to be 
a very popular idea." 

For more information on how your 
city can benefit from similar legisla- 
tion. please contact the public ^airs 
office of The Big F.venl. 

Deadline 
Approaching For 
Next Month’s 
Articles 

Remember, the deadline for all 
articles submitted to The Big Event is 
the 10th of each preceding month. 

Send your pieces, double-spaced 
please, to Carol East. EveiKs Co^ina- 
tor. FOB 8384. Seattle. WA 89382. 


Dates 

To Remember 


Executive Meeting 
Plannera Aaaodation 
June 13-18 
Sc Louie, Miaeouri 

National Eventa Aeeociation 
August 18-22 
Portland, Oregon 


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has variable scanning 
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O 1988, UEST Corporation. PC Scan is a trademark of DEST Corporation < not to be confused with 
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PC Scanner, a trademark of Caere Corporation). Other names indicated by * or * are trademarks 
READER SERVICE CARD 





■ BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 


larger power supply will be required to use 
the Crystal View. A similar warning is in 
order for owners of systems without cool- 
ing fans, like Digital Equipment's VAX- 
mate: this board runs hoi. 

Software support for the Crystal View 
is currently adequate, but not outstanding. 
Drivers are supplied for AutoCAD, Micro- 
soft Windows, GEM, and Ventura Desktop 
Publisher. As these displays become more 
popular, more drivers are sure to follow. 

Exquisitely legible and allowing both 
standard DOS applications and graphics- 
based interfaces, the Crystal View is once 
again an excellent selection. Some may 
question the lack of emulation modes other 
than CGA, but the truth is that virtually ev- 
ery program ever written supports CGA 
mode. 

THOMSON INFORMATION 
SY.STEMS CORP. 

Thomson 980W 

The Thomsom 980W is one of the display 
systems we examined during our last look 
at paper-white monitors several months 
back, and the reunion was rather like driv- 
ing a sports car in a snowstorm — a frustrat- 
ing mixture of fun and disappointment. 
The good news is that image quality has 
noticeably improved since our last look at 
the monitor. Tlie bad news is that it still has 
a long way to go when compared with the 
competition. 

Given what seems to be an acre of dis- 
play area, the $2,290 980W would appear 
to be the ideal monitor for DTP applica- 



The Thomson 9H()W has improved since last 
reviewed, hut it still suffers from fuzziness 
and low contrast . The controller, however, 
is excellent, with hi^h assembly qualiry and 
blistering refresh rate. 


FACT FILE 


Thomson 980W 

Thomson Information Systems Corp. 

5731 W. SlausonAve. 

CulverCily.CA 90230 
(800) 323-0464 
List Price: 52,290 

Requires: One full-length slot: DOS 2. 1 or 
later. 

In Short: Slowly improving, the Thomson 
980W has matut^ to the point where it is no 
longer an embanassment to own. Still, 
paper-white systems that are generally supe- 
rior are available for close to its price. 
cinCLE sea on header scmnce cabd 


tions, but the quality of the image indicates 
otherwise. When the brightness level is 
turned up high enough to overcome the 
high background illumination in a well-lit 
office , the display quality deteriorates sig- 
nificantly. Everywhere but in the center of 
the screen, the characters begin to smear 
into the background. The result is fuzzi- 
ness caused by a reduction in contrast. 

Even at its best, with the contrast con- 
trol set to maximum and the brightness 
control at about two-thirds maximum, the 
980W’s overall image contrast is less than 
that of some of its peers. Where most of 
the competitors produce a crisp black-on- 
white image, the Thomson’s contrast level 


is closer to that of a quality black-and- 
white television set. Adequate now, per- 
haps, but less than dazzling. 

The inability to deal adequately with 
high-contrast images was most notable 
when running PageMaker and Ventura 
Desktop Publisher, since their predomi- 
nantly white display seems to overwhelm 
the resolving power of the monitor. The 
situation is far better with AutoCAD, with 
its black-on-white images. 

For normal DOS applications, the dis- 
play is usable but. again, disappointing. 
On the positive side, it fills the entire dis- 
play area, and the large text characters are 
reasonably crisp. But the characters them- 



PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
1 % 


BLACK-AND-WHITE MONITORS 


E D I T O R 

dha CHOICE 


• Amdek Monitor/1280 and Wyse WY'-700 

• Monitcrm Viking Portrait 

• NEC MonoGraph 

• Sigma LaserView Plus 

• Ta\an Crystal View 


Which paper-white monitor is best 
turns out to be heavily dependent on 
the application you'll use most, hi 
this collection of nonstandard video 
m(Hles. each has its own niche. 

For desktop publishing aficiona- 
dos. NFC's MonoGraph is an out- 
standing choice. Its e.xquisitely 
legible display of conventional ap- 
plications like word pnx e.s.sors and 
spreadsheets makes it one of the 
best cbtfices for an all-purpo se mon- 
itor .sy.stem. too. 

AuUCAD owners, on the other 
hand, are likely to be more con- 
cerned with preci.se video represen- 
tation of their line drawings, and, 
for this purpose , the Sigma lut.ser- 
View Plus is superior. With a re.so- 
lution of 1 ,664 by 1 .2(X) pixels, 
it rivals minicomputer-based work- 
.stations in image (fuality. The new- 
found MDA-mode emulation finally 
gives it the ability to .sen e as the 
principal di.splay. 

Taxan's Cry.stal View was the 
sole recipient of our Editor's Choice 
the last time around, and even 


though the competition has gotten 
tougher, it remains an excellent all- 
around selection. DTP, CAD, and 
normal applications are all handled 
with aplomb. 

For pure Ixingforthe buck, how- 
ever. the Amdek Monitoril2S0 
{along with its identical twin, the 
Wy.se WY-70()) is hard to heat. With 
drivers for AuixxC AD. Lt>lus 1-2-3. 
and the leading DTP packages, its 
relatively .small, interlaced di.splay 
area is offset by .superb CGA and 
MDA emulation. Add those (piali- 
ties to the reasonable $9S)9 price 
tag. and the Amdek becomes the 
be.st display for (Kcasional DTP and 
CAD use. 

Although generally le.ss legible 
(and, to.somee.xtent, le.ss useful) 
than their landscape-format coun- 
terparts, portrait-format monitors 
have their proponents. Moniterm's 
Viking Portrait, with its va.st 19-inch 
low-glare di.splay area, along with 
decent (and growing) .software .sup- 
port, clearly outcla.s.ses its .smaller 
competitors. 


selves are composed of very sharp, boxy 
pixels that result in an image that is both 
unattractive and somewhat difficult to 
read. 

Physically, the display is quite hand- 
some, although it is beset by all the bulk 
and weight that one would expect in a 
monitor with such a prodigious display 
screen. The largely metal cabinet is one of 
the few with a power switch conveniently 
mounted near the front (most seem to pre- 
fer the back, for unknown reasons). Just 
above the power switch are the contrast 
and brightness controls. The base, adjust- 
able for both tilt and swivel, helps over- 
come the relatively high glare level. 

IMPRESSIVE DISPLAY ADAPTER 

While the monitor's perfonnance is rather 
lackluster, the same cannot be said of the 
display adapter. Quite simply put, it is a 
technological standout and little less than a 

■ Thomson has made a 
great effort toward 
improving the 980W, 
and, to a limited extent, 
it has succeeded. 


work of art. Driven by a Texas Instruments 
34010 graphics coprocessor, it is capable 
of updating the screen at a blistering pace. 
This speed is further enhanced by the AT- 
compatible 16-bit bus. although the unit 
will automatically fall back to 8-bit mode 
when installed in a PC or XT. 

Built almost entirely of surface-mount- 
ed devices, the board’s a.s.sembly quality is 
second to none. Eleven DIP switches and a 
conventional slide switch (used to select 
the type of monitor attached to the board) 
are positioned along the top edge of the 
board, allowing them to be changed with- 
out removing the board from the CPU. 

Thomson’s video board (they call it the 
Advanced Graphics Controller) will be of 
even greater interest to those who prefer to 
change monitors depending on application 
(Flight Simulator doesn’t cut it on any 


monochrome sy.stem). In its standard con- 
figuration (the one we tested), Thomson’s 
AGC video board emulates the IBM CGA 
and MDA boards, as well as the Hercules 
MG A board. An optional daughtercard 
can be attached to allow full EGA emula- 
tion as well. 

The only negative aspect to the AGC 
board is that it is responsible for the medio- 
cre character set when emulating a stan- 
dard IBM display mode. 

The latest support software still lacks 
drivers for Lotus 1-2-3 and Symphony, al- 
though they are listed on the box. In their 
place is a mail-in card for registered users 


to get the drivers at no cost whenever they 
become a reality. Otherwise, drivers are 
supplied (ox AutoCAD (Versions 2.60 and 
later) and Microsoft Windows. 

Thomson has made a great effort to- 
ward improving the 980W, and, to a limit- 
ed extent, it has succeeded. Perhaps the 
bigger problem for Thomson is that its 
competitors haven’t exactly been sitting 
around twiddling their thumbs either, and 
their offerings appear to be more desirable 
alternatives. SS 


Frank Bican is a contributing editor of PC 
Magazine. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
197 



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CIRCLE 186 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



■ mass-stora(;e devices ■ frank bican 


THE 

WORM 

TURNS 


r 


New optical drives translate WORM 
technology into high-capacity data storage machines. 


\ 


C ontinuing advancements in mass-storage 
technology have probably been the most im- 
portant factor in popularizing the personal 
computer, more so than processor power or 
even the ever-expanding diversity of soft- 
ware. After all, you wouldn’t give a hoot 
that the magic box on your desk has a 32-bit 
microprocessor crunching data held in ump- 
teen megabytes of memory if you had to type in both the pro- 
gram and data each time you powered it up. With the advent of 
the hard disk drive, the PC was transformed from a merely de- 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 19«8 
199 


■ WORM DRIVES 


TTn How a WORM Works 

■r 


M 


The WORM uses an integrated 
focusing system for both reading 
from and writing to the laser disk. 
The coarse positioning mecha- 
nism is similar to that used by 
expensive hard disk systems. 
The fine positioning motor allows 
direct access to a number of 
tracks on the disk without coarse 
motor movement. 


Objective Lens 



Coarse Tracking Motor 


Collimator 


sirabic extra to an essential t(K)l that every- 
one from secretaries to database applica- 
tion developers would rather kill for than 
be without. Now we have enough mega- 
bytes of storage to choke an elephant and 
applications that can be executed at what 
seems like the speed of light. 

But is there really such a thing as 
“enough” storage capacity? Not unless 
you also believe there's a Ux>th fairy and 
that a lawn mower engine would work just 
fine in a Porsche. The disbelievers among 
us represent the driving force behind the 
advent and future success of optical stor- 
age technology. Before these optical stor- 
age systems f^'ame available, all of the 
older systems had one strong common 
bt)nd — magnetic media. The forms ranged 
from tape, to floppy disk, to hard disk, to 
even bubble memory (which has all but 
faded into oblivion). The physical form 
each storage method took yielded a variety 
of compromises in capacity, speed, and re- 
liability. 

Optical storage is an entirely different 
beast. There is currently a choice between 
read-only media (commonly referred to as 


CD-ROMs) and the WORM (write-once, 
read-mostly) drives reviewed here. (Eras- 
able optical disk drives are still more a 
dream in designers’ minds than a realistic 
device.) 

WORM drives and CD-ROMs are sim- 
ilar only in that they use a solid-state laser 
to read data stored as a series of opaque pits 
in an otherwise reflective metallized sur- 
face on a polycarbonate substrate. The 
beauty of the WORM drive is that it can 
also be used to write to the disk, and the 
pemianence of the media (estimated at 10 
years) makes it an ideal device for archival 
data storage. Furthermore, because the 
read/ write head never comes in contact 
with the disk (it stays about 2 millimeters 
away from the surface), there is no chance 
of losing data from a head crash — the big- 
gest fear of hard disk owners. 

The optical disks used arc contained in 
hard ca.ses protected by sliding metal shut- 
ters, not unlike overgrown 3'/2-inch floppy 
disks. And like floppy disks, the medium 
can be recorded on both sides, but it has to 
be physically removed and Hipped over to 
do this. Although it's relatively inexpen- 


sive to add a second read/writc head to a 
floppy disk drive to allow operation with 
either recording surface simultaneously, 
adding a second optical assembly to a 
WORM drive would raise that medium's 
already high prices through the roof. 

Speed of operation, particularly when 
reading stored files, is an important con- 
sideration when using WORM drives. 
Their prodigious storage capacity is of lit- 
tle use if it takes all day to search for a par- 
ticular database record. Slower perfor- 
mance when writing is less of a problem 
because if you’re updating the files on a 
WORM drive very often, you're using the 
wrong storage device. Remember, there's 
no way to recover the space occupied by 
obsolete file versions on a WORM disk. 

DRIVi: .ARCHITECTURE One factor 
that determines the data throughput capa- 
bilities of a WORM drive is the storage ar- 
chitecture used. All but one of the drives 
reviewed here uses sequential file .storage. 
This arrangement most closely resembles 
magnetic tape in that when a file is updat- 
ed, the old version is flagged as obsolete 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
200 


C. 



and a new file is wrinen at another location 
on the disk. No file allocation table, as 
found on a conventional magnetic disk, 
exists on the optical disk, but rather it is 
simulated in memory by the device driver. 
Like tape drives, sequential disks require a 
Mount command to read the disk informa- 
tion into memory before it can be ad- 
dressed. This may be transparent to the op- 
erator, or part of an installation utility. In 
general, sequential storage drives are 
quickest at file retrieval. 

The other storage technology uses 
linked files, the system used by the Opto- 
tech 5984 reviewed here. The first time a 
file is written to a linked file disk, it is re- 
corded in sequential fashion, but space is 
left between each data bkKk for a pointer 
to a new data block, should one be written. 
This approach more closely imitates the 
way DOS stores files on a magnetic disk, 
and it uses space more efficiently than se- 
quential file disks. On the other hand, 
linked files that have been updated repeat- 
edly become much like a badly fragmented 
file on a hard disk and thus take longer to 
access. 

Another factor that can greatly affect 
the speed at which data can be manipulated 
on a WORM drive is the efficiency of the 
device driver. This small machine-lan- 
guage program is installed by a DEV1CE= 
command in the CONFIG.SYS file during 
the boot process. It serves as an extension 
to the operating system and allows the 
WORM drive to be accessed by conven- 
tional software. 

Along with the device driver, many 
WORM systems also include utility pro- 
grams that take advantage of the drive’s 
unique properties. Because old file ver- 
sions are never erased from the media, 
some WORM drives come with utilities 
that let you examine the contents of the 
older versions as well as the latest copy. 
Some also include programs that patch the 
operating system and exceed the 32MB di- 
rectory size limit normally imposed by 
DOS. The value of such a feature on de- 
vices capable of storing as much as 
400MB per side needs no explanation. 
Other software, depending on the pack- 
age, includes COPY programs that reduce 
the directory space taken on the precious 
write-once medium, sophisticated routines 
for searching through data files, and pro- 


gram routines for system integration de- 
velopment. 

Since our last look at WORM drives 
(see “WORMS for Mass Storage,” PC 
Magazine, June 23, 1987), enough time 
has elapsed for the technology to have ma- 
tured somewhat and for any major limita- 
tions in software to have been ironed out. 
The five products reviewed here represent 
their makers' best efforts, and their opera- 
tional differences are surprising, to say the 
lea.st. Absent from our story is the WORM 
drive that IBM first announced last April; 
IBM declined to provide a unit for review. 
Tallgrass Technologies, whose drive was 
reviewed in our last roundup, was revising 
its product and did not have a model ready 
forevaluation. Nor did Maxtor, whose Ri- 
coh-manufactured drive should hit the 
market sometime sixin. 


INFORMATION STORAGE INC. 

ISI 525 WC 

Information Storage earned granddaddy 
status in only 2 years by being the first to 
deliver a S'A-inch WORM drive to the PC 
marketplace. It claims to be the only com- 
pany that manufactures storage products 
for everything from PCs to mainframe sys- 
tems. 

Since 1985, Information Storage has 
captured 60 percent of the WORM drive 
sales, primarily with the product reviewed 
here: the ISI 525 WC. At only 8 inches 
high by 5y4 inches wide by 3'/4 inches 
deep, the PC-styled enclosure of the 525 
WC doesn't soak up too much of that rarest 
of commodities — desktop real estate. On 
the back panel are the requisite power-cord 
jack and on/off switch, along with a DB- 
25 connector to link the drive to the con- 
troller board with the 3-foot cable sup- 
plied. The front panel has but a single 
button that serves both as the disk request 
switch (much like that found on the current 
crop of 3 '/ 2 -inch disk drives) and as the 
drive activity light. Pushing the button dur- 
ing operation causes the drive to spin down 
and the optical head to park itself out of 
harm’s way. That done, the cartridge is 
ejected about an inch for removal. 

Removing the cover from the cabinet 
revealed a drive that appeared to be of ex- 



ist 525 WC' 


Inlomialion Storage Inc. 

2768 Janilcll Rd 
Colomdo Springs, CO 80906 
(303) 579-0460 
List Prict: 52,795 

Rttfuires: 35K RAM. one (loppy disk drive, 
one half-length slot, DOS 3.0 or laler. 

Iii Short: Fast data ihn>ughput. along with 
complete IX)S compatibility, makes the ISI 
525 WC a U>p choice for WORM drive appli- 
cations. The drive avsembly features high- 
quality construction along with a program 
that patches IX)S forpartitumsupto 1 15MB. 
enabling the drive to back up the mt>si unlor- 
giving directory structures. 

OfCLE 644 CTN READER SERVICE CARO 


ceptionally high quality, with a robust 
cast-aluminum mounting frame for the op- 
tical assembly and well-thought-out circuit 
board design. A small, swilchable power 
supply provides the required 1 and 3 amps 
at 5 and 12 volts, respectively. A cooling 
fan draws air in through holes along the 
bottom front of the enclosure, but, al- 
though it should keep things c(X)l, it could 
also draw in dust and dirt that could even- 
tually contaminate the optical disk car- 
tridge. 

The 525 WC connects to the PC by way 
of an Enhanced Small Device Interface 
(ESDI) controller board. At only half-slot- 
length, the petite board is as much at home 
in one of the XT’s half-length slots as it is 
in a conventional PC. Although it per- 
formed just fine in an AT clone, the 8-bit 
bus structure didn’t fully exploit the AT’s 
16-bit bus and no doubt diminished 
throughput somewhat from what it could 
have been. 

Populated with a combination of very- 
large-scale integrated (VLSI) components 
and conventional ICs and discrete compo- 
nents, the controller’s chip count is amaz- 
ingly low. In addition, it was surprisingly 
cool even after being powered up for sev- 
eral hours in an AT with the case cover re- 
moved (rendering the cooling fan useless). 
This signifies low power consumption and 
may equate to longevity. On the other 
hand, although the board seems reason- 
ably well assembled, there were six wire 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
201 




□ 3V2" format available from us. Specify 
when ordering. 

S package includes both 5V4" and SVz" 
disks. 

B 3V2" format available from manufacturer 
by request. Call us for details. 

CP— copy protected: NCP— not copy-protected 

SOFTWARE 

We only carry the latest versions of products. 
Version numbers in our ads are current at press 
time. 


Alpha Software ... NCP 

□Keyworks 3.0 ('macros^ $59. 

□Advanced Ke^^rks 1.0 175. 

□Alpha/three 1.1 (dB3 file compatible ) .... 219. 

American Small Business Computers 

□Design CAD 3.0 f/VCP; 169. 

□Design CAD 3D 3.0 169. 

Application Techniques ... NCP 

RlPi2azz2.0 45. 

Ashton-Tate ... NCP 

SdBase III Pius 1.1 ffhesfandarc^) call 

SRapidfile 1 .2 (new version, new price!) . . . 199. 

SMuttiMateAdvantagell 1.0 299. 

Best Programs ... NCP 

□PC/TaxCut (for 1987 taxes) special 

Bible Research ... NCP 
nJHEV^ORO 4.0 (specify KJV or NIV) .... 159. 
Bloc Development ... NCP 

□FormTool 2.0 59. 

Borland International ... NCP 

□Sidekick 1.5 57. 

□Turbo BASIC 1.1 67. 

□Turbo C 1.5 67. 

□Turbo Pascal 4.0 67. 

□Superkey 1.1 67. 

□Reflex 1.1 99. 

□Eureka 1.0 109. 

®Quattro 1 .0 w/SQZ!Plus 1.0 129. 

SParadox 2.0 (easy-to-use database) call 

Breakthrough ... NCP 

□Timeline 2.0 fpro/ecrmanagemertO 289. 

Broderbund ... CP 

□Print Shop ^banners, s/gns, erc.^ 35. 

□Print Shop Companion (tools for Print Shop) 33. 
□Memory Mate I.OC/VCP; 45. 

Chipsoft ... NCP 

BTurtwTax Personal/1040 5.01 45. 

BJaWy Ho 1 .01 (financial calculator) 32. 

Computer Associates ... NCP 

®SuperCalc4 1.1 299. 

Crosstalk Communications ... NCP 

□Crosstalk XVI 3.61 95. 

□Crosstalk MK.4 1.0 129. 

Dac Software ... NCP 

□Dac-Easy Payroll 2.0 45. 

CDac-Easy Light 1.0 45. 

□Dac-Easy Accounting 2.0 59. 

□Dac-Easy Bonus Pak 2.0 109. 


PC Connection 
Software Special 

through March 31 . 1988 

Best Programs ... NCP 
□PC/TaxCut for 1987 taxes 

Taxes can be fun. With Best Programs 

PC/TaxCut you can wade through the latest 

IRS manifesto with ease. And be done in 

under an hour. April 15 will be here before 

you know it. 

• Eight data sections progress in logical 
order and never present you with a 
confusing form on-screen 

• Calculates and prints over 20 IRS forms 
and schedules 

• Hotkey will show you your tax or refund 
due every step of the way 

• fifteen-day money back guarantee 

For PC. XT. AT. XT286 & PS/2 series . . $43. 


Digital Research ... NCP 

□Gem Draw Plus 3.0 189. 

□Gem Desktop Publisher 1 .0 259. 

Executive Systems ... NCP 

nXTRBE 2.0 (DOS shell) 45. 

□XTREEProl.O 69. 

5th Generation ... NCP 

□Fastback Plus 1.01 99. 

Funk Software ... NCP 

□Sideways 3.21 42. 

^Noteworthy 1.0 49 

alnwordl.O 59. 

aWorksheet unities 1.0 59. 

Generic Software ... NCP 

□Generic CADD 3.0 69. 

□Dot Plot 35. 

□Auto Dimensoning 35. 

□Drafting Enhancements 35. 

aEditor’s Choice Pack (includes Generic CADD 

& four enhancement programs) 159. 

Harvard Associates ... NCP 

PC LOGO 2.0 89. 

Hayes ... NCP 

□Smartcom II 3.0 89. 

Hligraeve Software ... NCP 

□HyperACCESS 3.2 89. 

Individual Software ... NCP 

aDirectory Assistance 1.0 33. 

□Professor DOS (with Smartguide) 33. 

□Typing Instructor II 26. 

Javelin Software ... NCP 

□Javelin Plus 2.01 159. 

Lifetree ... NCP 

□Volkswriter Deluxe Plus 1.0 69. 

BTotal Word 1.0 259. 

MacroPac International ... NCP 

101 Macros for: 

1-2-3 dBASE 111 Plus Ew^ei ... each 42. 


Micro Education (MECA) ... CP 

□Managing Your Money 4.0 $129. 

MicroPro ... NCP 

□WordStar Professional Release 4.0 259. 

□WordStar 2000 Plus Release 3 Personal . . 229. 
□WordStar 2000 Plus Release 3 Legal 329. 

Microrim ... NCP 

aR:BASE for DOS ('w/SOL /hterfecej 449. 

□dB Graphics 1.0 199. 

Microsoft ... NCP 

□Learning DOS (7or any verswnj 35. 

□Windows 2.03 69. 

BWorksl.0 129. 

Bookshelf 1.0 (CD-ROM; 199. 

Bookshelf 1 .0 w/Amdek Laser Drive 799. 

®Word4.0 249. 

®Chart3.0 259. 

t^Excel 1.0 (requires 80286/80386 CPU) . . . 319. 
LANGUAGES 

□Quick BASIC 4.0 69. 

□Quick CIO 69. 

BMacro Assembler 5.0 99. 

bC Compiler 5.0 299. 

Migent ... NCP 

BAbility Plus 1.0 149. 

Monogram ... NCP 

□Dollars&Sense3.1 105. 

Nantucket Software ... NCP 
®C\ippeT (Summer '87. dB3 Plus compiler) . 399. 
New England Software ... NCP 

aGraph-in-the-Box Release 2 75. 

Nolo Press ... NCP 

BWillMakerl.O 35. 

North Edge Software ... NCP 

nTimeslipslll3.2 119. 

Paperback Software ... NCP 
□VP-Planner 1.37(1-2-3 vers. Mcompaf.; .. 54. 

□VP-Planner Plus 2.0 95. 

□VP-lnfo1.4 65. 

□VP-Expert 1.2 (expert system; 65. 

Paul Mace ... NCP 

nH/Test-H/R)rmat2.0(hard-ct«/f toote; 49. 

□GRASP 3.02 55. 

□Mace Utilities 4. 1 (DOS utilities) 59. 

Personics ... NCP 

BSmartNotes 2.0 (Post-lt-like notes) 49. 

BSeeMORE 1.0 49. 

!H;@BASE1.0 119. 

Quarterdeck ... NCP 

□DESQView2.01 (operating environment) . . . 79. 

□Expanded Memory Manager 4.0 39. 

Revolution Software ... NCP 

SCruise Control 3.02 39. 

Simon & Schuster ... NCP 

□Typing Tutor IV 33. 

BWebster's New World Writer 1.04 59. 

BWebster's New World Combo 1.0 59. 

BWebster's New World Prof. Thesaurus 1 .0 

(over 4 million words!) 79. 

Softlogic Solutions ... NCP 
BSoftware Carousel 2.0 (everything resident) 45. 
BDisk Optimizer 3.0 45. 


For the IBM-PC (XT & AT) Exclusively. 



ALL ITEMS SUBJECT TO AiAILABILITY PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE 



what’s in stock. 


Softvvare Publishing ... NCP 

BPFS: First Publisher 1.0 $59. 

(l]PFS;Prcrfessional Ran 1.0 59. 

SPFSiFirst Choice 2.0 89. 

fflPFS:Prcrfessional Write 1.03 119. 

aPFSiProfesstonaJ File 1.01 149. 

SHarvard Graphics 2.1 299, 

SoftView ... NCP 

TaxViewC/br 7987taxes^ 69. 

Springboard ... NCP 

Newsroom»Pro 45. 

Surpass Software Systems ... NCP 

aSurpass 1.0 297. 

Symantec ... NCP 

□O & A 2.0 (database, word processor ) .... 209. 
®Q& A Write 1,0 119. 

Traveling Software ... NCP 

BLAP-LINK Plus 1.0 85. 

Ihie BASIC, Inc. ... NCP 

□True BASIC 2.01 57. 

BTrue BASIC Libraries each 32. 

Turner Hall ... NCP 

BSpeilinll.0 49. 

BSQZ!Pfus1.0Cmate7-2-3sheetesma/ted • - 59. 
BNote-ltPlus2.0('noteson 1-2-3 sheets ) .... 49. 
B4Word 1 .0 (add word processing to 1-2-3) . . 59. 
B4Views 1 .0 (add-in for 1-2-3 databases^ .... 59. 

BCambridge Spreadsheet Analyst 2.02 59. 

Veiicomp ... NCP 

SSoftBytes2.0 35. 

WordPerfect Corp. ... NCP 

^WordPerfect Library 1.1 59. 

raWordPerfect Executive 1.0 119. 

□WordPerfect 4.2 call 

WordTech Systems ... NCP 

□dBXLl.l 89. 

□Quicksilver 1.1 359. 

Xerox ... NCP 

Ventura Publi^er 1.1 529. 

EDUCATIONAL 

Barron’s ... CP 

Computer SAT 35. 

Blue Lion ... CP (reqs. graphics brd.) 

□Tcket to London. Paris, or Spain each 25. 

riRSVP (etiquette & int’l badness protocol) 25. 
Stone & Assoc. ... NCP (reqs. graph, brd.) 
MyLetters.Numbers.Words('ages2to6.t. . . 27. 

Kids Stuff ^ages 2 to 6.) 27. 

1hie BASIC. Inc. ... NCP 

HTrigor>orT>etry 32. 

WAIgebra . . 32. 


RECREATIONAL 

Accolade ... CP (reqs. graphics brd.) 

RHardb^l (baseball simulation) 24. 

RMean 18 (great go/f game. CGAorEGA) ... 29. 
Electronic Arts ... CP (reqs. graphics brd.) 

Starflighl (WCP; 32, 

Chessmaster 2000 32. 


PC Connection 
Hardware Special 

through March 31. 1986 

Video? ... 3 years 
VEGA VGA 

Ever wonder how to get VGA compatibility 
without buying an IBM PS/2 machine? 

Video 7's \^A solves the problem along with 
providing EGA. CGA. MDA. MCGA. and 
Hercules support. 

• Supports b(Xh analog arid digital monitors 

• incorporates surface mount technology 
with custom 1C chips for less heat and 
more reliability 

• Short length card (to fit in IBM-PC XT) 

• 3 year warranty 

• 256k video memory 

For PC. XT. XT286. AT & PS/2 Model 30 $287. 


Chuck Yeager’s Flight Simulator 32. 

Grand Slam Bridge 45. 

Hayden Software ... CP 

Sargon III (requrres CGA) 15. 

Infocom ... NCP 

Bureaucracy Stationfall Lurl^ng Horror 
Hollywood Hijinx Hitchhiker’s Guide 

Leather Goddesses of Phobos each 25. 

ZorkTnlogy 49. 

Microprose ... CP 

F-15Srike Eagle (requrres CGA) 22. 

Silent Service (requr/es CGA) 22. 

Gunship (requ/res CGA or EGA) 32. 

Microsoft ... CP 

□Flight Simulator 2.13 (reqs. graphrcs brd.) . , 32. 

Mindscape ... CP 

□Balance of Power (reqs. graphics brd.) .... 30. 

Parlor Software ... CP 

□Bridge Parlor (best Bridge simulation) 49 

Sierra On>Line ... CP 

BLeisure Suit Larry (requires CGA or EGA). . . 25. 

SSpace Quest (requires CGA or EGA) 33. 

\siK\ng‘s Quest \\\ (requires CGA or EGA) .... 33. 


Sphere, Inc. ... NCP 

GAJO (submarine simulation, requires CGA) 12. 
EFalcon (F- 16 simulation, reqs. graphics brd.) 32. 

Sublogic ... NCP 

Jet 2.0 (requires EGA or CGA) 33, 

XOR ... NCP 

□NFL Challenge 69. 

1 - 800 / 243-8088 


PC Connection 

6 Mill Street 
Marlow, NH 03456 
603/446-3383 


465M 


HARDWARE 

Manufacturer's standard limited warranty period 
for items shown is listed after each company 
name. Some products in their line may have 
different warranty periods. 


AST Research ... 2 years 

I/O Mini 2 C/S/P $89. 

SixPakPlus 64k C/S/P 

(now upgrades to 576/() 129. 

SixPakPremium 256k C/S/P 


(upgrades to 1 Meg or 2 Meg w/Piggyback) 1 99 , 

/Ndvantaoe Premium 512k S/P 

(upgrades to 1 Meg or 2 Meg w/Piggyback) 299. 

Advantage 2 512k (for PS/2) 309. 

RAMpaoe) 286 512k (upgrades to 2 Meg) 339 . 

Hot Shot 286 (10 MHz) 399. 

AST Premium series boards and RAMpagef 
boards support EMS and fully support EEMS. 
Amdek ... 1 year 

LaserDrive-1 (CD-ROM Drive: 90-day wrly.) 629. 
Video 310A (amber monochrome monitor) 139. 
Video A10A (amber monochrome monitor) 159, 

Compucabte ... 2 years 


2- Position switch box 29. 

3- Position switch box 39. 

Cuesta ... 1 year 


Datasaver 400 Watt (AT backup power unit) 459 


Curtis ... lifetime 

ACCESSORIES 

OiskHolderDB-1 (hofcfe505’/<"dis/cs) 8. 

Printer Stand PS- 1 18. 

Universal System Stand SS-3 25. 

DS-1 Switch Box (contrc^ 2 printers) 33. 

CABLES 

Smartmodem-to-PC Cable ^feef) 17. 

Pnnter-to-IBM cable ^ feet) 17. 

SURGE SUPPRESSORS 

Safestrip SP-3 (6 ouffelS; 1 year wrty.) 21 , 

Diamond SP-1 (6 ouftels) 32. 

Ruby (6ouf/els. EM/l/flE/A/tered;6ftcord) . . . 59. 
Ruby-Plus (w/FAX<St modem protec&on) . ... 69. 

DCA ... 1 year 

Irma 2 (3270 emu/afion board) 729. 

Irma PS/2 (for Mode/s 50 and 60) 729. 

Epson ... 1 year 

All cps speeds listed are for 12 cpi mode 

EX-800 printer (80 co/umn, 300 cps) call 

FX-86e printer (80 cofomn, 240 cps) call 

FX-286e (136 column. 240 cps) call 

LQ-500 (80 co/umn, 160 cps) call 

LQ-850 printer (80 column. 264 cps) call 

LQ-1050 printer (136ocAjmn. 264 cps) call 

LQ-2500 printer(736 column. 324 cps) call 

LX-800 printer (H) co/umn. 780 cps) call 

Printer-to-IBM cable (6 feet) 15. 

Everex ... 1 year 

1200 Baud Internal Modem 99. 

2400 Baud Internal Modem 199. 

5th Generation ... 6 months 

Logical Connection 256k 319. 


For the IBM-PC (XT & AT) Exclusively. 



•DEFECTIVE SOFTWARE REPLACED IMMEDIATELY DEFECTIVE HARCWtfARE REPLACED OR REPAIRED AT OUR DISCRETON 





Logical Connection 512k $379. 

Hayes ... 2 years 

Smartmodem 1200 299. 

Smartnxxjem 1200B (with Smartoom II). . . 299. 

Srnartrmxlenri 1200B('nosoftvvareJ 265. 

Smartrnodern 2400 449. 

Smartmodem 2400 B Smartcom ///. . 449. 
Hercules ... 2 years 

Hercules Color Card 159. 

Hercules Graphics Card Plus 189. 

Hercules Incdor Card f/hducfesflAMfonf) . 229. 

IMSI ... lifetime 

Optimouse f^idudes Dr. Halo II) 99. 

Intel ... 5 years 

Inboard 386/PC w/1 Meg call 

Inboard 386/AT freg./nste/latonktfj 949. 

Inboard Installation Kitfsped^computerl . 139. 

Aboveboard 286 512k 319. 

Aboveboard PS/286 512k S/P 349. 

AboveBoard 2 (Z)k for PS/2 279. 

80Q7(forlBM-PC&XT) 114. 

e02e7(fOflBM-PCAT&XT286) 195. 

80287-8 |)br 8 MH? 80286 machines; 249. 

80387 (16 MHz; 499. 

80387 (20 MHz; 749. 

Kensington Mlcrowaie ... 1 year 

Printer Muffler (80 colbmn; 39. 

Masterpiece 94, 

Masterpiece Plus 109. 

Keytronic ... 3 years 

101 Keyboard Cenhanced/ayout) 99- 

Kiafl ... 1 year 

Three-button Joystick 33. 

IMcrosoft ... 1 year 


Mouse with Pairitbrush(!speoiybus or seha/) 109. 
Mouse with Easy CAD Cspeoiiy bus or seneO 125. 

Migent ... 1 year 

Pocket Modem (esd. 1200 baud. w/Bkom) 169. 


MSC Itehnologles ... lifetime 

PC Mouse w/PC Paint + ('serta/ verson; .... 99. 
PC Mouse w/PCPaint+ (bus version; 99. 

NEC ... 2 years 

Multisync II (800x560 max. res.; 599. 

Multisync Plus (968x750 max. res.; 949. 

NSIL^ic ... 3 years 

Epic 480 (extended £GA; 129. 

Smart EGA Rus (supports 800x600 res.; . . 269. 
Orchid Technologies ... 2 years 

Tiny Turbo 286 289. 

PC Turbo 286e w/1 Meg (10 MHz) 729. 

Jet 386 (indudes cabte /op 869. 


RAMquest 2 Meg (tor PS2modefe 50450; . 699. 
Piectical Periphmis ... 5 years 
Microbuffer Mini (joaraie/pninf buffer w/32/<; . 75. 
Microburter Inline (joar print buffer w/Q2k; 129. 

1200 Baud Internal Modem (W/ProComm; . . 89. 


1200 Baud External Modem 109. 

24(X) Baud Internal Modem (w/RoComm; 159. 

2400 Baud External Modem 169. 

Princeton Graphics ... 1 year 

MAX-12E (amber rTX)no(XvofnerrKyiitor 139. 

HX-12E (640x350 max. res.; 499. 

Ultrasync (supports CGA. EGA, VGA; 549, 


Ouadram ... 2 years 

ProSync (with mouse; supports 640x480 & 


752x410 resduObn; $259. 

Microfazer II Print Buffer 64k 249. 

Ultra VGA 319. 

Toshiba ... 1 year 

P321 SL printer (80 CO/.. 216 cps.w/tfactor; 529. 
P351SX printer (136 cotomn. 216 cps; .... 999. 
T 1000 Laptop (80C88, 6.4 lbs., 5 hr. battery; call 
T1200 Laptop (80C86, 10 MHz. 20 Meg) ... call 
T3100/20 Laptop (80286. 8 MHz. 20 Meg) . . call 
Tseng Labs ... 1 year 
EVA 480 (supports 640x480 resototton; . . . 299. 
Video? ... 2 years 

VEGA Deluxe (supports 640x460) 229. 

VEGA VGA (supports full IGA specs) . . . special 

DRIVES 

IOMEGA ... lyear 

Bernoulli Box 20 Meg W/PC2 card 1649. 

10 Meg cartridge 59. 

Bernoulli Box 40 Meg w/PC2 card 1849. 

20 Meg cartridge 82. 

Bernoulli II (single 20 Meg internal) 949. 

Miniscribe Corp. ... 1 year 

ScribeCard30Meg(68ms; 479. 

Mountain Computer ... 1 year 

40 Meg Internal Tape Drive (XTof AT) 379. 

40 Meg External Tape Drive (Xfor AT) .... 479. 
40 Meg External Tape Drive w/Power 

Supply P(7 or AT) 569. 

Drlvk;^ard20Meg(80ms; 479. 

DriveCard 50 Meg (54 ms) 699. 

Plus Development ... 1 year 

Hardcard 20 Meg (49 ms; 579. 

Hardcard40Meg(39ms; 729. 

Seagate ... lyear 


FREE PCTV^ Hard Drive Instaktion with the 
purchase of Seagate drive for the IBM PC 
(not for AT). Specify Beta or VHS. 

20 Meo Internal Hard Drive (w/VIfestem Digital 


controtfsrandcabtes, 65 ms; 309. 

TEAC ... lyear 

PC.XT360kDrive(5*/r''baiif-bo^O 99. 

720k Drive (3^/^" half-height, specify XT or AT) 99. 

fbshiba ... lyear 

AT 360k Drive (5»/4'ha/1-be^f; 117. 


MEMORY 


DISKS 


All disks have a lifetime warranty. 

5V4'' DS/DO Disks for PC & XT (360k) 

F\j\)MD2D (10 disks per box) $12. 

Sony (10 diaper box; 12. 

Maxell MD2-DM (lOd/s/csperbox; 13. 

Verbatim Datalife (10 diste per box; 13. 

5V4'' DS/High Density Disks for AT (1.2 Meg) 

F{j\i MD2HD (10 disks per box) 22. 

Sony (10 disAs per box; 23. 

Maxell MD2-HDM (10 d<s/<s per box; 23. 

Verbatim Dalalife (10 d/s/(s per box; 22. 

3V2" DS/DO Diskettes (720k) 

Sorry (10 disks per txix) 18. 

Fu f (10 disks per box) 19. 

Ma)^l (10 d/^ per box) 20. 

3 V 2 ” DS/High>Density Diskettes (1.44 Meg) 

Fuf (10 disks per box) 55. 

Maxell (10 disks per box) 59. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

CompuServe 

CompuServe Information Service 24. 

Grdier's Online Encydopedia 32. 

Cables ... lifetime 

Smartmodem-to-AT cable (9 feet; 15. 

Parallel Printer cable (15 feet; 19. 

PC Connection Computer Toolkit 22. 


OUR POLICY 

• We accept VISA and MASTERCARD. 

• No surcharge added for credit card orders. 

• 'tour card is rxX charged until we ship. 

• N we must ship a partial order, we never charge freight 
on the shipmentfs) that complele the order (m the U.S.). 

• No sales tax. 

• Al US. shipments insured; no additkxtal charge. 

e APO/FPO orders shipped 1st Class Mai. charged tv 
weight 

• Alowl week for personal and company checks to dear. 

• UPS Nexl-Oay-Air available. 

• COO max. S1000. Cash, cashier 's check, or mortey order 

s 120 day irniled vwatrarty on al products. * 

• 1b order cal us anytime Morxlay thru Friday 9:00 to 
900, or Saturday 9:00 to 5:X. Vbu can cal our business 
offices at 603/44&3383 Monday through Friday 9;X to 
5:30, 

SHIPPING 


64kUpgradeSet(’750ns, se(crf9J call 

256kUpgradeSetfl50ns,se(of9i call 

256kUpgradeSe((')20ns,se((rf9; call 


1 - 800 / 243-8088 


Note: Accounts on net terms pay actual shppXig. 

Continent US: 

• For monitors, printers. Bemoui Boxes, and computers. 
pay actual chivges. Cal for UPS 2nd-0ay & Next-Day-Air. 

• For al other items, add $3 per order to cover UPS 
Shipping. For such items, we auiomaticaly use UPS 
2rKiOay-Air at no actra charge if you are more than 2 
days from us by UPS ground. 

Hawtek 


PC Connection 

6 Mill Street 
Marlow. NH 03456 
603/446-3383 


465M 


• For monilors, printers, Bemoui Boxes, arxt computers, 
actual UPS Blue charge wil be added. For al other 
items, add $3 per order 

AJnIte and outekto Continental US: 

• Cal 603/44&3383 for information. 


For the IBM-PC (XT & AT) Exclusively. 



rKIIVIAKT «• 



PCPrimaiy. 


Let the fur flyl 

(Or, how we became firat in the nation.) 

E very four years, America sits up and takes note of 
the democratic doings in Marlow, NH (pop. 551). 
Because, as everybody knows: "As Marlow goes, 
so goes the nation,” The rest of the time, the politicians, 
reporters. Secret Service agents, and hangerson leave 
us to our daily chores. Which happen to include run- 
ning the leading-by-a-landslide mail order business 
specializing in PC add-ons and software. 

Our goal? A chicken in every pot, a plug in every 
port, and full power in every box. 

Let’s put a real animal in the 
White House. 

Our record is perfectly clear. No 
added taxes, and no extra charge 
for insurance or credit card orders. 

An inventory that rarely shows a 
deficit. And a balance of trade for 
mighty Marlow that makes Japan 
look like a small group of islands in 
the Pacific. 


So we’re keeping the same platform for the next 
four years— great prices, intelligent support, fast serv- 
ice, and a refined sense of humor. 

Go ahead. Check the claims of contenders and 
probe their policies. In the privacy of your own toll-free 
polling booth, we know you’ll make the best choice for 
you, the best choice for your computer, the best choice 
for your country. Stay the course, folks. 

It’s time to partyl 

You’ve got your donkeys. You’ve got your elephants. 
But today’s technology demands a more shrewd and 
cunning approach to politics. What 
better symbol than our very own 
mascot? A stuffed version of the 
same is free to anyone who places 
an order of $750 or more between 
now and March 3Ist. 

Just calll -800/243-8088 or 
1-603/446-3383, M-F 9:00 to 9:00; 
Saturday to 5:30. If you’re planning 
to visit, call ahead to make sure 
what you want is in stock. 



Show your coaailBeit tp oar party wkh HI dflidal PC 
CooBwtloBalallBdanfaaal«.alther>ccooBpar»aadoa. 
Affrr itiTl r’afl a Mf tr iiH amnintt 1>itr pfr ntHitmiT 


For IBM Personal Computers exclusively. 



POOPVWGHTPCOOM«CTmaC.imPCCOMW CC TION*NDT»«RICCOONCH*>WnBI(8)*HE >*OtS l hfl 6 D TH>fl CM » fira orPCOOIOCCTaN.wa.WAHLOW'iat 



Photograpta: Thnn O'Connor 


■ WORM DRIVES 



/Si's 525 WC combines exceptionally high hardware quality with sophisticated software that 
makes the drive easy to set up and use. The result is a system that's hard to beat. 


jumpers snaking all over the place to com- 
pensate for some designer’s shortsighted- 
ness. Not a pretty sight, perhaps, but in the 
end, it worked just ftne. 

A bank of eight DIP switches resides 
along the upper edge of the board to select 
the operating mode and port addre.ss. One 
switch selects direct memory access 
(DMA) mode for use in either a rc or XT ; 
the same switch in another position selects 
the Programmed Input/Output (PIO) mode 
preferred when the 525 WC is installed in 
an AT. The other switches control which 
group of eight contiguous port addresses 
(for the data lines) will be selected for use 
by the 525 WC. The default setting of 300 
(hex) worked without problem in the well- 
endowed AT, but addresses from 200h to 
3FFh can be used should a conflict arise. 


Unfortunately, the manual doesn’t specify 
which devices could cause problems, nor 
which address alternatives should be used 
in the event of a conflict. I guess if you can 
afford an optical disk drive, you are also 
expected to foot the expense and inconve- 
nience of a long-distance phone call to 
make it work on your particular system. In 
all fairness, the documentation we re- 
ceived with the review unit was a beta 
copy, and we hope the release issue will 
correct this lack of detail. 

WORM-TOS Software — that commod- 
ity that can make or break a WORM 
drive — is definitely one of the 525 WC’s 
sftong points. ISl refers to its device driver 
and DOS extensions as WORM-TOS. 
That name immediately conjured up im- 


ages of mixed-annelid salads or perhaps 
perverse carnival games in my mind, but 
its performance is nothing to be laughed at. 
Although the “WORM” portion of the 
name is self-evident, the “TOS” exten- 
sion stands for “Transparent Optical Soft- 
ware,” and it lives up to its name in pro- 
viding a useful, nonthreatening 
enhancement for casual and experienced 
DOS users alike. It handled every DOS 
command issued to it without fault and 
was fast enough to make the 525 WC a 
useful mass-storage device — a claim some 
other manufacturers can't make. 

The 525 WC managed to handle all of 
the performance test programs — and in the 
fastest time of any WORM drive. The exe- 
cution times were only about 50 percent 
longer than those experienced on the 40- 
millisecond AT hard disk, and it even di- 
gested the massive XCOPY directory 
backup test without a hitch. 

A couple of utility programs specific to 
the 525 WC are included on the WORM- 
TOS diskette. N032 makes a patch to 
DOS to eliminate the 32MB restriction for 
disk drives. (No program is supplied in 
case you have to return your installed copy 
of DOS to its normal status, but booting an 
unaltered copy of DOS from the floppy 
disk drive and typing SYS c: restored 
things to normal without problem.) With 
the patch in place, the normal sector size is 
increased to 2,048 bytes, as opposed to the 
512 bytes normally used. The penalty for 
this is the loss of 30K of available memory 
when both are used with 20 buffers, a rela- 
tively standard configuration. The Disk 
Partition Utility (DPU) is used to initialize 
a new optical disk cartridge, alter the exist- 
ing disk partitions, and toggle various de- 
vice driver flags. Think long and hard be- 
fore running this program, because you 
could all loo easily turn the data stored on it 
to rubbish. 

The Back Track Utility (BTU) gives 
you the ability to find and read older ver- 
sions of files previously stored on the 525 
WC and later updated. Unlike magnetic 
media, WORMs don’t write over older file 
versions when a new file is stored with the 
same name. WBACK, the backup utility, 
operates in a novel and not altogether suc- 
cessful fashion. When run, it examines the 
source drive for the directory structure and 
files to be backed up, and then generates a 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
206 


batch file to accomplish the task. In the 
case of a drive containing the XCOPY per- 
formance test (3, 1 56 files in 1 ,579 directo- 
ries), the result yielded a batch file 478K 
bytes long. The only problem, though, 
was that it wouldn't work if the directory 
pathname exceeded 66 characters. Conse- 
quently, the lowest (seventh) directory lev- 
el resulted in “Invalid Directory, Unable 
to Create Directory" error messages on the 
screen, and the files in them were not 
backed up. A better alternative is to buy a 
copy of DOS 3.3 and u.se its XCOPY/S 
command. 

The ISI 525 WC is certainly one of the 
more well-honed WORM drives avail- 
able. and ISPs WORM-TOS device driver 
is among the best there is. If you really be- 
lieve that optical .storage is the path toward 
the future, then the 525 WC is a big step in 
the right direction. 


MAXIMUM STORAGE INC. 

Maximum Storage 
APX-3000 

Open up the htxKl of the Maximum Stor- 
age APX-3000 and you’ll find . . . well, 
frankly, a rather familiar product. Al- 
though the sticker on the drive assembly 
reflects the name of its maiiceter. the in- 
scription on the controller board (Informa- 
tion Storage Inc.) gives its heritage away. 
Only the front bezel has been changed to 
protect the innocent. 

Maximum Storage’s APX-3000 is one 
of a growing number of PC products mar- 



FACT 


FILE 


Maximum Storage .\PX-3(MN) 

Maximum Sionigo liic. 

5(125 Ccnlcnnial Blvd. 

Colorado Springs. COWWm 
(.VLl) 551-6888 
LLsI l»rlce: S2.675 

Requires: 256K RA.M, one floppy disk 
drive, one half-length slot. IX)S 3.0 or later, 
In Short: The familiar and capable ISI 525 
WC optical drive is thmtticd by software in 
need of rennement and maturation. 

CtRCL£ 698 W RfcAOLR CT nyiCE CARP 


PC 


keled by value-added resellers (VARs). 
They purchase the nuts and bolts from 
someone else and then add their own spe- 
cial features (software, in this case), and 
market the pnxiuct under their own labels. 


VAR products often fill specialized niches 
much better than their original manufac- 
turers’ counterparts. Would that I could 
say the same for the APX-3000, The hard- 
ware for the APX-30(X), already described 




yolfll nin feurter with this. 


F£ist Forward not only speeds up databases, it makes 
any software run 2 to 10 times faster. But it's amazingly 
effective on disk-intensive applications like databases, 
accounting and inventory control. 

Why? EBecause with Fast Forward, data is retained in 
your computer's internal memory. Which is incredibly fast. 
Much faster than hcird disks. Hundreds of times faster 
than floppies. 

So what are you waiting for? Get Fast ForwEird today 
at your software dealer's, in the software department of 
your favorite bookstore or by calling 1 -800-MWC- 1 700 
now. (1-312-472-6659 in Illinois.) 


Mark 

Williams 

Company 


1 430 W. Wightwood. Chicago. IL 6061 4 
€> 1988 Mark Williams Company 


CIRCLE 337 ON READER SERVICE CARD 
MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
207 





■ WORM DRIVES 



•EXE, which serves to initialize a new op- 
tieal disk cartridge. It will also add a de- 
scription label to the cartridge up to six 
lines in length. This is in addition to the 
IX)S volume label, which EHDS limits to 
1 1 characters. 

SLOW THROUGHPUT Data through- 
put may be the most important perfor- 
mance consideration with a WORM drive, 
and MAXSYS-DOS is slow. The APX- 
3000 drive took over 15 minutes to copy a 
10MB file from an AT hard disk and over 
1 9 minutes to copy the file back to the hard 
disk. Worse still was the FIND perfor- 
mance test, which took nearly a half-hour 
to search for a nonexistent string in that 
10MB file. So much for scarming large da- 
tabases on the APX-3000! The XCOPY 
performance test failed after creating only 
147 directories with two files in each. At 
that point, the system crashed and could be 
restarted only by turning the computer off 
and then back on again. 

Maximum Storage claims that 
MAXSYS-DOS will work with up to 20 
subdirectory levels and that the number of 
files is limited to available disk space. That 
may be so if they ate copied one at a time. 
Just don’t try to back up a complex hard 
disk directory structure using XCOPY. 

MAXSYS-DOS is only partially com- 
patible with MS-EXJS commands, sup- 
porting only the mote obvious commands 
like COPY, FIND, APPEND, TYPE, 
XCOPY (supposedly), and so on. Several 
important commands such as BACKUP, 


■ The hardware used in 
the APX-3000 has 
proved itself well made 
and capable of 
very good performance. 


RESTORE, attd TREE are not supported. 
Others, like CHKDSK, DISKCOMP, and 
RECOVER, ate listed in the documenta- 
tion as meaningless for an optical drive and 
hence incompatible. 


in the review of the ISI 525 WC, leaves lit- 
tle to be desired. Construetion quality is 
excellent, forgiving the ESDI (Enhanced 
Small Device Interface) board’s wire 
jumpers. 

The difference between the APX-3()00 
and its sibling is the software, which 
proved to be the downfall of the relabeled 
product. With only a scant five files, the 
MAXSYS-DOS floppy disk supplied with 
the unit is enough to get the drive up and 
running, but little else. Furthermore, the 
performance of the device driver leaves a 
lot to be desired. MAXSYS.EXE func- 
tions as the command processor and opti- 
cal file manager, while MAXBIOS.COM 
serves as the low-level device driver called 
by MAXSYS. Both files are executed 
from the CONFIG.SYS file on the boot 


drive, either a floppy or hard disk. (The 
optical drive cannot serve as the boot 
drive.) Should you not have a CON- 
FIG.SYS file on your boot disk, you can 
use the version supplied on the MAXSYS- 
DOS floppy disk. 

An Install batch file simplifies the pro- 
eess of moving the MAXSYS-DOS pro- 
grams from the floppy disk to your hard 
disk in a new directory called MAXSYS. 
If no CONFIG.SYS file is found, the ver- 
sion on the MAXSYS-EXJS disk can be 
copied to the root directory. If one already 
exists, it will be renamed CONFIG. OLD 
before tbe new version replaces it. A much 
better approach would be to modify the ex- 
isting file and append the appropriate de- 
vice driver specifications to it. The final 
program on the floppy disk is MDISK 


The APX-3000 from Maximum Storage is a relabeled version of the ISl 525 IVC. While the 
hardware is beyond reproach, the setup and utility software for this drive need improvement. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
208 



Endyoxir 


doiD nimt mares. 


IDIIIIKN 
(H'y L 






COREpower means MORE^wer to PS/2 

Add Capacity, Speed and Rdiability. 


Adding a CORE International hard 
drive to your PS/2 does a lot more 
than double or triple your data 
capacity. 

You have the advantage of 
keeping the original foctory drive, 
thus combining the capacities. 

CORE'S high-speed drives can 
outperfonn ^ PS/2 standard drives. 
Some by a factor of four. 

When you add CORE components 


to a PS/2 Model 50. you end up 
with more capacity and greater 
speed than an IBM PS/2 Model 60. 
And at less cost This added capacity 
is also portable, meaning ymi can 
easily transport your data from 
system to system and lock it away 
for extra security. 

On the IBM PS/2 Model 60. you 
can expand to 116MB by adding 
CORE'S 72MB high-performance 


drive. When using the IBM PS/2 
Model BO. cnir HC Series ESDI drives 
are available in 90. 150. 260 and 
310MB capacities. 

All this COREpower has extensive 
user-proven reliability and is backed 
by our industry-leading three-year, 
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And we don't just provide high 
capacity. We give data security. Our 
CORE/asr diskette backup system 


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a PS/2 floppy in only 31 seconds. 

This hlgh-sp^ backup software is 
Includ^ at no charge with our low- 
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These are just some of the rea- 
sons COREpower means MOREpower 
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your local CORE International dealer 
or contact us today. 

CERTIFIED BY 


N N O V E L L 


FOR NETWAR E^2 .1 


CIRCLE 255 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


SCORE 

INTERNATIONAL 


Northeast Region: 
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203/357-1339 


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■ WORM DRIVES 


i J WORM Drives: 
i ^ n Summary of Features 

(Products listed in ascending pnee order) 

ISI 525 WC 
$2,795 

N/Hance 525 Optical 
Disk System 
$2,950 

Optotech5984 

$2,950 

Maximum Storage 

APX-3200 

$3,495 

Micro Design 

LaserBank 800 
$9,995 

Capacity (per cartridge side) 

122MB 

120MB 

200MB 

122MB 

400MB 

Dimensions (HWD in Inches) 

8 X 5 V 4 X 3 V 4 

5'/4 X 7 X 15 V 4 

5^4 X 7 V 4 X 16’/S 

5’A X 6^/k X 15'/^! 

6 V 4 X 10 X 17 

Cartridge price 

$95 (single sided) 
$135 (double sided) 

$95 (single sided) 
$135 (double sided) 

$65 (single sided) 

$125 (double sided) 

$125 (single sided) 
$175 (double sided) 

$150 (double sided) 

DOS support 

Full 

Full 

Full 

Full 

Full 

Hard-fhsk magnetic buffer 

0 

0 

0 

0 

• 

Support software 

Device driver, 
development tools. 
Xenix. ISI DOS. 
interlace libraries 

Device driver, text 
search 

Development tools. 
C-language interface, 
low-level language 
interface, diagnostic 
software 

Device driver only 

Device driver only 

Interface type 

ESDI. SCSI 

ESDI-like 

Optotech proprietary 

ESDI 

SCSI 

RIe architecture 

Sequential 

Sequential 

Linked 

Linked 

Sequential 

— Irvticales Editors Choice • — Vbs 

O 2 — No 






The documentation supplied with the 
review unit was quite comprehensive and 
understandable, even in draft form. A sub- 
stantial number of drawings make installa- 
tion of both hardware and software a sim- 
ple task in most any MS-DOS machine. 
The hardware used in the APX-3000 has 
already proved itself (under different la- 
bels) well made and capable of very good 
performance. The device drivers sup- 
plied. however, bring it to its knees, re- 
sulting in excruciatingly slow data 
throughput. 


MICRO DESIGN 
INTERNATIONAL INC. 

Micro Design 
LaserBank 800 

There’s an old adage that an elephant never 
forgets, and that seems like an entirely ap- 
propriate description of Micro Design In- 
ternational's LaserBank 800. Not only is it 
gigantic in physical proportions and stor- 
age capacity, but it was also one of only 
three drives to execute all of the perfor- 
mance test programs successfully. 

At 61/4 inches by 10 inches by 17 inch- 
es, the Micro Design LaserBank 800 is 


nearly as large as some of the small-foot- 
print AT compatibles it’s likely to be con- 
nected to. The 22-pound hulk is something 
you won’t want to move about very often, 
but given its gargantuan capacity of 
400MB per disk side, the LaserBank’s 
weight doesn’t seem unreasonable. 

Removing the top cover revealed some 
surprises. The first was that much of the 
unit’s weight comes from an incredibly ro- 
bust chassis: it could probably serve dou- 
ble-duty as a wheel chock for an earth 
mover. The second surprise was the beau- 
tifully pul together optical disk drive as- 
sembly, labeled Maxtor on the back but 
Ricoh on the circuit boards. Never mind 
who really manufactures it, it’s truly a jew- 
el. By taking advantage of very-large- 
scale integrated (VLSI) circuitry, the de- 
signers have created boards that are 
remarkably sparsely populated for a sys- 
tem with such a high storage capacity. This 
board’s design is nothing short of a work of 
art — well thought out and obviously the 
product of quality assembly. The biggest 
surprise was just below the optical drive: a 
25MB 3 '/ 2 -inch hard disk drive that serves 
as a scratch pad for the device driver and 
cannot be addressed directly from DOS. 

Other noteworthy features within the 
cabinet include a power supply fully en- 
cased within a perforated metal cover and a 


radio-frequency (RF) interference filter on 
the power line. The front panel is graced 
with a total of four power switches: one for 
the drive itself and three for the AC power 
receptacles on the rear panel. Small pota- 
toes, perhaps, but this design should result 
in a neater installation than the usual power 
strip on the floor. 

For the controller board. Micro Design 
chose to use a Small Computer System In- 
terface (SCSI) adapter manufactured by 
Padgett Nelson Industries. Its half-slot 
length enables its use in the short slot of an 
XT. The component layout is neat, but it 



FACT 


FILE 


Micro Design l^aserBank 801) 

Micro Design Intemalionat Irn.'. 

6985 University Blvd. 

Winter Park. FL 32792 
(305)677-8333 
LLs! I>rice: $9,995 

Requires: 384K RAM. hard disk dnve. 
DOS 3.0 or later. 

In Short: Prodigious storage capacity Is off- 
set by the rather slow performance of the de- 
vice driver .software. Still, the l^a-serBunk 
800 proved up to the la-sk of digesting a nn^n- 
sinxis directory structure with aplomb. 
CIRCLE 697 ON READER SEnviCC CARO 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
210 



BtAS£. 

mm SURE? 


E. 


I very computer user faces this question in some form 
each day. lb erase or not to erase. % save or not to save, 
when saving means overwriting the previous version of 
a file. If you answer yes and you're wrong, countless 
hours of work will be wiped out by a single keystroke! 
And there won't be anything you can do about it, unless 
you're backed up. 

Disk failure, theft, power surges— any of these can sneak 
up on you when you least expect it. However you look at 
it, backing up important files is essential. And nothing 
will make a believer out of you like finding out, just once, 
that you weren't as sure as you thought. 



The Inside Track 

MaynStream is also offered for internal installation 
in the PC or compatible, and in the PS/2 Models 60 
and 80. Plus, it comes with a number of faceplates 
designed to match today's most popular computers. 
MaynStream, from Maynard Electronics. Backed by our 
1-year warranty and Technical Support Team. In these 
uncertain times, it's one thing you can be sure of. 


MaynStream: A Sure Thing. 

MaynStream is a file-by-file backup system that pro- 
tects information on your drive by copying it onto a spe- 
cial tape and restoring it from the tape to any drive you 
specify, on command. With MaynStream, backup is a 
breeze. You'll see all the options you need right on the 
SCTeen. In seconds, you can easily customize the backup 
process to work the way that's best for you. 

Backup Is Just The Beginning. 

MaynStream's pull-down menus make it remarkably 
easy to back up, restore, assign names to frequently 
backed-up groups of files, select optional password pro- 
tection, and more! And context-sensitive, on-screen 
help is just a keystroke away. 

And, because MaynStream is com- 
pletely portable and compatible with 
all PC and PS/2 systems, you can use 
a single MaynStream to back up all 
the personal computers in your office— 
whether you have a classic PC or 
compatible, or a PS/2 Model 30, 

50, 60, or 801 Plus, MaynStream is 
Novell-approved, and works with all 
popular LANs including Novell, 

3COM, and IBM's PC Net,* 




ManmEAM. 

mmsmi 


MaynStream is available in 20. 60. and 1S0MB cassette or cartridge models arKt 
for^n language versions. 


Call us today for the name of your nearest autho- 
rized dealer or more information on today's lead- 
ing tape backup system. 


Mavnaid Electronics 

We^ backing you one-hivKked peroent 

460 E. Sennrwi . Cassebetry FL 3Z707 30&331 -6402 


'GM.BMPC. PS/2, and PC Nviwaadamarkaot kiiamaitonaieutinMaMachinM 3COM to •ndcmarkol 3COM Corpomion Now! xairadamvkolNovail, Inc May nSv aaw w a Iradamartt ol M»ynanl Eie cV onics ln& 

CIRCLE 495 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


FramewolkILBe 
mana^ changes jo 



*0r in Colorado call (303) 799-4900, extension 294 . IVademarks/owner. FVamework. FVamework (I. dBASE, FRED, Ashton Ictte/Ashton-lkte Corporation; Lotus, 1-2-3/LoUis Development 




cause the typical 
bs every 8.5 minutes. 


If you feel it’s getting harder to work 
on one thing without an interruption, you’re 
not alone. 

According to recent studies, the typical 
manager only concentrates on most jobs 
an average of 8.5 minutes.Then it’s time 
to work on something else. 

That’s why Framework IP makes so 
much sense. Ifcombines six different 
functions in one software program. 

So you can move from task to task 
without changing disks. Or changing the 
way you work. Because each function 
shares the same pull-down menus.The 
same commands. Even the same data. 

And FVamework II puts all six functions 
in front of you, just like 
file folders on a desktop. 

So going from task to 
task is as simple as 
picking up a new folder. 

Which means you can 
be working on next 
year’s sales projections, 
thenjump right into a 
memo to your managers. 

Without stopping and starting. So you 
keep a constant, productive work flow. 

FVamework n includes a word processing 
function with a spellchecker. A powerful 
spreadsheet with ^phics capabilities. 
Outlining to organize thoughts and infor- 
mation. A database management function 
that can feed both word processing and 


spreadsheet documents. And built-in 
telecommunications let you share your 
work with the world. 

FVamework n makes it easier to work 
with your other favorite programs. Its 
excellent import capabilities let you use 
files from Lotus* 1-2-3* dBASE'products, 
WordStar*and others. 

FVamework II’s amazing flexibility 
lets you group and organize different docu- 
ments and fimctions in the way that feels 
best to you. 

And with FVamework’s powerful FRED* 
programmi]^ language, you can even 
desi^ speci^ed macros, applications 
and links to other programs. 


437-4329, extension 294?“ 

If you work on more than one thing at a 
time, it only makes sense to work witti the 
softw^ tl^t works the same way you do. 

.A ASHTON -Tate* 


Corporation; WordSUr/MicroPro Inlemational Corporation. FVamework 11 runs on the IBM'PC and 100% compatibles. ©1987 Ashton -Tbte Corporation. .■Ml rights reserved. 

aRCLE 324 ON READER SERVICE CARD 




■ WORM DRIVES 



appears to have been subjected to a too hot 
solder bath. Operation was fine, but many 
of the copper tracings were wrinkled away 
from the substrate. A bank of eight DIP 
switches selects options such as SCSI host 
identification (in the event that more than 
one SCSI device is connected), direct 
memory access (DMA) mode, and parity. 
Four banks of jumpers also reside on the 
board , but only those for the DMA channel 
selection are documented in the manual. 
Fool with the others (for I/O address, inter- 
rupt request, and ROM address), and 
you’ll have to call the manufacturer to 
straighten things out. 

The software supplied with the La.ser- 
Bank 800, referred to as the LaserBank 
Management System (or LMS) by MDI, 
falls in the middle of the group in terms of 
both performance and thoroughness. Two 


floppy disks make up the package: one 
with the device driver software, a memo- 
ry-resident disk cache program, and a 
menu-driven installation program; and the 
second containing a couple of utilities 
unique to the requirements of the La.ser- 
Bank 800. 

INSTALLATION An installation pro- 
gram copies all of the programs to the hard 
disk and modifies the CONFIG.SYS file 
(for the device driver) and AUTOEXEC 
.BAT file (to run the cache program upon 
booting). All of the files (15 in all) are cop- 
ied to the hard disk’s root directory rather 
than being placed into a special subdirec- 
tory. Dig out your DOS manual, and you 
may be able to figure out how to copy the 
programs to a subdirectory and modily the 
CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT 


files yourself — no help is given for this in 
the manual. In fact, much of the manual 
consists of little more than snapshots of the 
screen during execution of various menu 
options, with precious little explanation of 
what the selection limits are. 

One operational difference between the 
LMS device driver and DOS may make 
you want to edit your CONFIG.SYS file 
regardless of the automatic installation 
procedure. Each buffer increases in size by 
1 6 times, to 8K, as opposed to DOS’s 5 1 2- 
byte size. If your system is set to boot up 
with 20 buffers (a fairly common number), 
I50K of RAM will be lost for application 
programs. One utility program you’ll want 
to become intimately familiar with if you 
want to maximize the storage capacity of 
the La.serBank 800 is LCOPY. Something 
of an enhanced version of the DOS COPY 
command, its principal advantage is to re- 
duce the space required to store informa- 
tion on the precious write-once media by 
reducing directory overhead. The 2.33 
percent savings on the 10MB performance 
test file may not seem like much, but con- 
sidered over the entire 400MB-per-side ca- 
pacity of the media, that equates into a 
storage increase equal to 25 360K floppy 
disks! The only penalty is that the program 
takes approximately 10 percent longer to 
execute than its DOS equivalent. 

On the arduous XCOPY performance 
test, the LaserBank 800 proved capable of 
backing up large-directory tree structures, 
albeit slowly. While that test generally 
takes about 45 minutes between two AT- 


■ The LaserBank 800 
handled the complicated 
directory structure that 
made some of the other 
drives go belly up. 


class (40-milIisecond) hard disks, the La- 
serBank 800 required 3'/2 hours. The bot- 
tom line, though, is that this disk worked 
with the complicated directory structure in 
which some of the others went belly up. In 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
214 



OPfIGAL 


The New Dimensions 
In PC Storage 


That’s right — 800 megabytes. In one 
removable optical disk cartridge. 

With the PC800 Optical WORM 
subsystem, you can add these 
new dimensions of performance 
to your PC; 

The 800-MB dimension: the 

largest PC storage capacity available 
in 5.25-inch form factor. Enough to 
handle your biggest applications, from 
CAD/CAM to database distribution and 
archiving. And it’s 100% compatible with E)OS 
and all popular applications. 

The optical dimension: permanent data 
storage on a 5.25-inch optic^ disk cartridge. It 
combines the high capacity and removability of 
tape with the random access and reliability of a 
hard disk. At 25 cents per MB, it’s the best 
storage economics in the business! 



The extra dimension: experience. 

The PC800 is the newest member of our 
SpeedStor'” frimily of hardware and software 
products, installed in over 150,000 demanding 
PC applications worldwide. We’re the experts in 
high capacity PC storage. 

Expand system today: addthePCSOO. 
Get 800 MB of removable optical storage. It’s 
available now for immediate shipment Call us; 

(408) 395-2688. 



A Company 


Distribution by AnthemAionex Electronics, Future Electronics, Pioneer Standard Electronics, Quality Components and Storex. 
SpecdStor is a trademark of Storage Dimensions. ^ 1967, Stoiage Dimensions 

CIRCLE 161 ON READER SERVICE CARD 




■ WORM DRIVES 


Performance Tests: 
ikn WORM Drives 


A n excellent performer, the ISI 525 WC 
turned in the fastest all-round results. 
The N/Hance 525 Optical Disk System s 
comparable results are to be exp^ed. 
since the package consists of an ISi 525 WC 
disk and driver enhanced with text-scanning 
software and sold by N/Hance under its own 
label, 'ibu would expect similar results from 
the Maximum Storage APX-3000. since it 
too is a relabeled ISI 525 WC. However, the 
APX-3000 uses a less sophisticated device 
driver, which accounts for its slow 
throughput. 

The singte common denominator tor virtually every PC arxt 
attendant penpheral device is DOS. and several ol its com- 
mands constitute a suitable testing platform lor WORM 
dnves 

The Bigttle and Scatter performance tests (developed for 
PC Magazine by contributing editor Winn L Rosch) were 
destgried to test tape backup systems, and. SKKe backup 
storage is a Ukely use lor WORM dnves. they are appropri- 
ate tests lor these units. Their device drivers, however, 
sometimes got in the way 1b conect this, tour batch files 
were written that accurately measure data throughput at the 
DOS level from a hard disk laden with the fruits ol these 
programs 


Performance Times 



Write 

(mitiisec) 

Read 

(minisec) 

Find 

(min:sec) 

Xcopy 

(hr:min;sec) 

ISI S25 WC 

4;S8 

3:06 

3:02 

1:33:22 

Maximum Storage APX-3000 

15.02 

19:16 

27:38 

NA 

Micro Design LaserBank 800 

8:53 

4:30 

9:12 

3:29:57 

N/Hance 525 Optical Disk System 

5:02 

3:05 

3:02 

1:33:29 

Optotech 5984 

5:29 

5:20 

5:51 

NA 


N A — Not applicable These devices could not compile the Xcopy test The Maximum Storage APX-3000 tailed after 
backing up 147 directones. the Opiotech 5984. after 186 directories. 


The Write performance test measures the time required to 
copy (using the DOS COPY command) a 10MB file (the 
result of Bigfile) from a 40-millisecond AT -class hard disk to 
an optical disk dnve Read does the opposite, measunng 
the lime required to transfer the same file back lo the con- 
ventional hard disk 

Since many (if rxx most) WORM drives will be used for 
storage of large text files, the Find performance test is 
particularly appropriate Using the DOS FIND commarxf. it 
searches Biglile tor a nonexistent character string, thereby 
simulating a typical database query. 


XCOPy the DOS commarKf that allows entire directory 
structures along with their attendant files to be copied from 
one device to another, serves as the basis lor the Xcopy 
performance test. The directory structure copied m this 
case IS the result ot the formidable Scatter program 3,156 
files, each 2.048 bytes m length, m 1.579 directories nested 
up to seven levels deep. Ot the five dnves tested, only three 
were capable of running this lest successfully: the other two 
depleled their directory space prematurely 

In the interest ot fairness arxl consistency, all ol the dnves 
were tested using 20 files and 20 buffers specified in the 
CONFIG SYSfHe. 


the more mundane world of archiving sin- 
gle flies and searching through them using 
EXDS, the LaserBank 800 proved to be 
only average in terms of the time required. 
If you have applications not requiring rap- 
id access times on the WORM drive but in- 
stead prefer the knowledge that the disk 
won’t immolate itself on a complicated di- 
rectory stmcture, the LaserBank may be 
just the trick. With a faster device driver, it 
might have been a winner. Maybe we’re 
asking for the world, but for almost 
$ 10,000, we have the right to. 


OPTOTECHINC. 

Optotech 5984 

Many PC products available today are de- 
signed with the philosophy that they 
should be trivial to install (hence menu- 
driven installation programs), follow a 
standard user interface (witness the devel- 
opment force aimed at Microsoft Windows 
and like products), and be relatively trans- 
parent in operation to the user (the forte of 
the Macintosh). 

The Optotech 5984 optical disk drive 


hangs tough against this momentum and 
may find more favor with software devel- 
opers than with casual PC users simply 
looking for a high-capacity archival stor- 
age system. This intention is clearly evi- 
dent in the software supplied with the 
5984. Where most settle for a device driver 
and a handful of utilities, the five Optotech 
floppy disks are also replete with a number 
of subroutines for C programmers who 
want to endow their software with basic 
I/O functions, primitive functions, and er- 
ror-handling routines. All are claimed lo 
have been compiled with both Lattice C, 
Version 2.15, and Microsoft C, Version 
4.0, but not necessarily other compilers. 
Two of the disks have routines that are 
unique to the optional SCSI (Small Com- 
puter System Interface) adapter, but the re- 
view unit came supplied with Optotech’s 
standard PC controller. 

The PC controller consists of two full- 
length boards piggybacked together in an 
unusual fashion. (Wing to the staggered 
nature of the PC bus lab and the backstrap, 
most double-board devices are nested to 
avoid physical conflicts with adjacent 
slots. (Tptotech’s adapter, though, forgoes 
this available space and places the daugh- 


tercard on the outside of the motherboard. 
As a result, you have to install it in the out- 
ermost slot in order to keep it from wasting 
an adjacent bus connector. Not all PC cabi- 
nets may allow this airangement due to 
clearance limits, but the PC’s Limited AT 
used for testing had no problem. 

As for conslniction quality, the board 




fflidFACT FILE 


Optotech 5984 

Optotech Inc. 

770 Wooten Rd. 

Colorado SfMings, CO 809 IS 
(303)570-7500 

List Price: $2,950 

Requires: 1 28K RAM. one full-length slot. 
DOS 3.0 or later. 

In Short: The extensive library of standard 
input/oulput functions written in C makes the 
5984 a marvelous tool for program devciojv 
ment using the optical drive. However, the 
software supplied for normal DOS applica- 
tion.s makes it all loo easy to destroy the con- 
tents of the disk, and the overly technical 
manual will be of little help to all but experi- 
enced pnigrammcrs. 


circle: 696 ON READCR SERVICE CARO 



PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
216 



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CIRCLE 124 ON READER SERVICE CARD 







■ WORM DRIVES 



The Opiolech 59S4 comes with a variety of development-level subroutines that should make it 
attractive to systems integrators looking for a WORM drive to add to their package . 


set rates second only to the Coleco Adam 
computer for the most design flaws dis- 
guised by questionable construction prac- 
tices. We’re talking about things like an IC 
with a few legs cut off and wire jumpers 
looping over its back to the board tracings. 
Worse still is an IC with one wire jumper 
between two legs, a pair of resistors sol- 
dered to other legs, and a crystal soldered 
to the resistor leads. I can't report what 
type of device that IC was because the 
crystal was glued to its top surface. All 
told, there were enough cut tracings and 
wire jumpers (29, unless I lost count) to 
put it in the “alpha” test version cate- 
gory — something that should stay in the 
R&D department until revision B is made 
available. This is really too bad because 
the controller performed adequately dur- 
ing our limited testing and has a number of 
features that make it otherwise desirable. 

Absent are the usual DIP switches and 
jumpers for configuration; instead, the 
8088-based device features automatic se- 
lection and verification, error detection 
and correction, and double buffering. 


WELL-DESIGNED ASSEMBLY The 

optical drive assembly is mercifully de- 
void of the design shortcomings of the con- 
Uxiller. Here, construction is of exception- 
al quality and apparently well thought out. 
Installing the 3984 on a PC will acquaint 
you with the unusual operation of the car- 
tridge ejection lever. A dummy cartridge, 
designed to protect the optical assembly 
during shipping, must first be removed, al- 
though the drive locks it in place with the 
power off. A small wire tool must be in- 
serted into a hole on the front panel to un- 
lock the lever, and then the lever can be 
swung to the eject position. The tool is di- 
minutive and you’ll probably lose it, but a 
bent paper clip will work just as well. 

Once the drive is powered up, the car- 
tridge eject lever can occasionally be a bit 
of a nuisance. First, the lever is pushed to 
the left, and the tricolored LED indicator 
flashes green while the drive slows to a 
halt. Once the disk stops spinning (indicat- 
ed by a steady green light), the lever is 
moved to the right and the cartridge is 
ejected. Don’t walk away, because after 


about a minute the drive locks up, and 
you’ll have to go through the ritual again. 

On the Write, Read, and Find perfor- 
mance tests, the 5984 proved to be a wor- 
thy competitor, ranning through each pro- 
gram in about S'/z minutes. The XCOPY 
performance test, however, found the 
drive’s Achilles' heel. After writing to 
only 186 of the 1,579 directories, the unit 
halted with a “write protect” error and the 
message that “Optical memory is full. 
Read-only file access now available on op- 
tical device.” Apparently the directory 
structure used up all of the space in the in- 
flexible file allocation table of this IX)S- 
disk-emulating drive. 

Special mention should be made of the 
manual supplied with the 5984. The pre- 
mature failure of the file allocation table 
could probably have been prevented by 
specifying a different starting address for 
the directory, but the instructions are rather 
incomplete, and a casual owner won't get 
the faintest idea of what to do from the 
terse directions. Furthermore, no utility is 
supplied to examine the physical starting 
address of each base directory. Be pre- 
pared to waste a few disk cartridges getting 
it to work properly with large directory 
structures containing many small files. Fi- 
nally, despite its second revision, the man- 


■ Onthe Write, Read, 
and Find performance 
tests, the Optotech 5984 
proved to be a worthy 
competitor, running 
through each program in 
about 5 Vi minutes. 


ual has more than its fair share of typo- 
graphical errors. 

For system integrators or software de- 
velopers looking for a WORM drive to in- 
corporate into their package, the Optotech 
59M, with its variety of development-lev- 
el subroutines, should prove valuable. For 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
218 


Iftjustyourbasic 
quantum leap 



Microsoft* 

QuickBASIC 4.0 is 
no longer your basic 
BASIC. Now, because 
of a revolutionary break- 
through, you can run, test, 
debug, then continue rurming 
your program and see the results. 

Instandy. Which is why we call it 
“instant programming! 

Other compilers make you wait while they 
compile your program at an unimpressive 
rate of 12,000 hnes per minute. But Microsoft 
QuickBASIC 4.0 translates your program 
into executable code at a breathtaking 

150,000 lines per minute. You get all the sp)eed 
you can possibly use right when you need 
it. While you’re developing your program. 

And for the first time in BASIC, you’ll 
find the most sophisticated debugging tools 
around. Like the freedom to change a run- 
ning program on the fly. Without restarting. 
And you also get instant syntax checking, 
watch expressions, even runtime type 
checking. 


Besides all these 
advances in the environ- 
ment, Microsoft QuickBASIC 

4.0 gives you a sophisticated 
collection of language extensions: 
records, recursion, huge arrays and 
true functions. There’s even interlanguage 
calling that lets you call subroutines tom 
other l^crosoft languages. 

And if you think all this means you might 
have to give up phenomenal execution 
^ed, think again. Microsoft QuickBASIC 

4.0 gives high performance executable code 
thats the fastest anywhere. 

About the only thing that isn’t more 
advanced in Microsoft QuickBASIC 4.0 is 
the price. 

It’s still just $99. And it’s still backed with 
a 30-day money back guarantee. Microsoft 
QuickBASIC 4.0. 

To make a quantum leap in your pro- 
gramming, you need a quantum leap in 
your language. 

Microsoft* QuickBASIC 4.0 


For the name of your nearest Microsoft dealer, call (800) 541-1261, Dept. A49. 

Microsoll is a miistetcd trademark o( Micmsori Corporation. Offer valid in ihe 30 United States only. 



A lot of computer for your money 








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12MHz 80286 processor, 1MB RAM, 1.2MB floppy drive, 
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Bentle^ 286/10 

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lOMHz 80286 processor in a compact chassis, Phoenix 
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Monographics Card 
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■ WORM DRIVES 


TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN 


O ptical data storage and magnetic 
technology may seem to have little 
in common. In fact, there are almost as 
many physical similarities as there are 
differences. 

The cartridge shell looks rather like an 
overgrown 3 '/ 2 -inch floppy disk assem- 
bly, but the exterior dimensions have 
swelled to approximately 6 inches by 5'/2 
inches by V» inch. Considering that the 
storage capacity can be as much as 1 ,000 
times that of the diminutive floppy, the 
size increase seems insignificant, to say 
the least. 

More comparable in size, perhaps, 
are the interchangeable cartridges used in 
a few Winchester drives and the media 
found in Iomega’s new Beta-20 Bernoul- 
li Box drive. Even these units still require 
S to 20 cartridges to store as much as one 
optical cartridge holds. 

A spring-loaded metal shutter covers 
the opening for the optical read/write as- 
sembly and is automatically moved to 
one side when the cartridge is inserted 
into the drive bay. 

A pair of plastic latches, one on each 
trailing comer of the shell, is used to 
write-protect each side of the WORM 
disk as.sembly, should that be required. 


Like magnetic disks, most WORM disks 
can record on both sides, but due to the 
high price of optical read-write heads, 
only one head is used in each drive. Us- 
ing the second side, then, requires that 
the disk be removed, flipped over, and 
reinserted. 

The disk itself is quite unlike that used 
on a CD-ROM drive (or a CD stereo sys- 
tem, for that matter). The polycarbonate 
substrate is roughly twice as thick as that 
of the CD-ROM, measuring about 2 mil- 
limeters. Onto this base a thin film of the 
rare-earth element tellurium (from the 
same atomic group as sulfur and seleni- 
um) is deposited by a vapor-plating pro- 
cess. Additional polycarbonate layers are 
then applied to the disk to protect the del- 
icate recording surface. 

The resulting film is so thin that it ap- 
pears to be transparent: open the shutter, 
and you can look right through the media 
when it is illuminated by a bright light. 

Like pocket-size floppy disks, optical 
cartridges have a metal hub, but a pre- 
cisely machined one that ensures preci- 
sion alignment on the drive spindle, 
whereas 3 '/ 2 -inch floppy disks can get by 
with stamped-metal hubs. 

Anyone who was in the computer 


field before the current microcomputer 
revolution will remember that the 8-inch 
floppy disks used on many early mini- 
computers were hard-sectored. A series 
of holes (as opposed to the single timing 
hole found on current soft-sectored flop- 
py disks), each delineating a separate 
sector, was punched around the periph- 
ery of the hub. Optical cartridges are sim- 
ilar in that the sector information is 
burned into the disk during the format- 
ting process at the factory. (Dpen the shut- 
ter, and you’ll see the sector divisions ra- 
diating from the hub. 

One problem with the current optical 
cartridges is the lack of a common stan- 
dard. Although outwardly similar, the 
optical format and physical dimensions 
of each manufacturer’s products are sig- 
nificantly different from those of its com- 
petitors. Consequently, an ISI cartridge 
cannot be used in an Optotech drive, or 
vice versa. 

Although single-sided cartridges are 
available, there seems little point in using 
them. The prices for single-sided media 
(typically around $140) arc considerably 
more than half the price of their double- 
sided counterparts (at around $200 each). 
— Frank Bican 


those who ju.st want an easy-to-use, reli- 
able mass-storage device, however, the 
Optotech 5984 comes up short. 


SYMPHONY SYSTEMS INC. 

N/Hance 525 Optical 
Disk System 

Unpacking the N/Hance 525 Optical Disk 
System was rather like attending a 20-year 
high school reunion; you recognize the 
face, but you can’t quite place the name. 
The answer isn’t an identity change for a 
former CIA informant, but rather the rela- 
tionship that exists between original equip- 
ment manufacturers and value-added re- 
sellers. 


In this case, the hardware and device 
driver software are a known quantity: the 
excellent ISl 525 WC optical drive and 
WORM-TOS operating system extension. 
Having already scrutinized them under 
that company’s own label, we’ll forgo an- 
other description of those products and di- 
rect you to the ISI review for details. 

The value added by Symphony Sys- 
tems, then, lies in the firm’s TextScan soft- 
ware package. Given that most WORM 
drives will probably be used for permanent 
storage of large documents, TextScan will 
make the process of searching through 
over 1 1 5MB of data a painless task. Sym- 
phony Systems bills TextScan as a docu- 
ment management and text retrieval sys- 
tem, but that hardly does it justice. 
TextScan can also be used to filter high-bit 
control characters from word processing 


■ TextScan’’ s file 
compression can reduce 
storage space by as much 
as 50 percent. 


documents, cut text from a WORM docu- 
ment file and save it on magnetic media, 
and compress text files to only half their 
normal size. 

TextScan is entirely menu driven, with 
directory and file selections (up to 500) 
made by cursor control. Neophytes won’t 
feel threatened, but more-experienced us- 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
222 





Save valuable time M 

every day with f 
the RANDOM information processor 



PROBLEM: 

With an the software toob available, it 
is smprisiiig that an important need has 
been overlooked — a way to deal with 
the countless bits of RANDOM 
information you spend hours with every 
day. As a re^, you are losing valuable 
time and making decisions wiA 
incomplete information. 

SOLUTION: 

Tornado— the RANDOM information 
processor. The productivity 
software package for your PC that 
works wonders. 



you are a business executive, consultant, 
engineer, or in any other profession, you need 
Tornado— it will save you endless time and 
effort every day— guaranteed— or your money 
back. Here is how it woiks: 

■ Infomiation Windows 

With Tornado, you process information in 
stacks of supeifast ‘'intelligent*' windows— 
several on your screen at once. You type into 
the windows; interconnect and prioritize them; 
and scan through them in remarkable ways. 

■ Free Form 

Tornado is FREE-FORM. It works the way 
you think. To start a r^ window you just 
press N, aiKl enter information. No file names. 

No extra keystrokes. To 
retrieve information you just 
press G (for (}et), with any 
word or phrase— youll watch 
Tornado zip through your 
windows like lightning linking 
and opening those requested. 
You can even flip through 
your windows with the arrow 
keys and watch them instantly 
pile up and lift away. These 
are just three of 18 easy but 
powerful features. 


I 


'‘Excellent Excellent Excellent ExceHent" 

PC World. Patrick Marshall 


. “one of the niftiest ... programs l\e ever seen.’ 
I BYTE. Jeny Pournelic 


I 


“Excellent value" 

Info World. Review Board 


I “Witor's ( hoke" 
PC Maga/inc 


I 


“simple ... superfast" 

New York limes, Dimcni 


can start *Tomado-ing*’ in 15 minutes- not 15 
days. And that’s a pretty good deal since 
Tornado can save you an hour every day! 

■ Productivity Tool 

To reach your goals, you need tools that 
maximize your productivity and help you make 
your best decisions. Tornado fits the bill 
perfectly. In fact corporate user surveys show 
you may well use Tornado more than any 
other software package! Order today risk-free. 


.* 99 ’*! 


ONLY 

Just ^149” with the valuable 
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30-DAY MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE 
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■ New Concept 

Tornado is a superfast new way to deal with an 
important type of information. Tornado will 
not only let you be more productive, it will 
help you make the decisions you ne^ to reach 
your goals. Did you ever realize that over half 
the information you deal with is the RANDOM 
type? Not databases— not spreadsheets— not 
long documents— but the type scattered around 
your workplace and in your head. Yet 
amazingly, until now there was no great 
software to help you— the tools were either too 
structured or without organization. But now, at 
last, there is a quick and easy solution— 
Tornado- acclaimed by rave reviews and 
accepted by corporations nationwide. Whether 


■ Space Station 

TomMo is being used on the 
complex US Space Station 
project— but it does simple 
things too: When Harry calls 
you on the phone, in two 
seconds flat you'll display the 
six windows on Harry before 
he finishes his first sentence! No more 
embarrassing pauses or scrambling for 
information. Tornado is so versatile 
you can: write and print a letter faster 
than ever, track things to do; edit 
electronic mail; and plan a project or 
event — qukkly and easily. You can 
even build a sophisticate 
“knowledge" base — or an unstructured data base— 
without programming. And that's not all. Track phone 
conversations, numbers, sales leads, aixl all your other 
RANDOM iriformation. With the new option you get a 
“Library" of windows containing: free-form calendar, 
project planner, grid maker, city/ state/ area code/ time 
zone translator, and much more. On a portable. 
Tornado is your ideal moving office. B^t of all, you 
tailor Tornado to your own needs — easily! 

■ 25,000 Windows 

Instead of one window or ten, imagine up to 25,000! It^ 
like extra memory... for your brain! The uses are eiKlless. 
If you can *Hypc"it— youcan“Tomado"it. And because 
it*^ memory resident (if you choose) you can quickly 
jump in from other programs— even move information 
between them. All this power, yet reviewers agree you 


To order call: 


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Technical quotioiB & NJ: (201) 342-6518 
24 hr. modem; (201) 342-8101 


□ YES, send me copies of 

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I of Tornado wiih Library at $149.95 
I plus $3.50 shipping. ($10 shipping 
I outside USA & Canada). NJ 
I residents add 6% tax. No purchase 
I orders. To order, mail coupon or 
I call (800) 342-5930. 

I Payment: VISA MC Check 

Credit Card Expiration 

Card n 

I Not Copy Ihrotected 
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FEATURES: free-form & predenned windows, scrolling uithin window, import & export to (lies & 
screens, cut & paste, auto word wrap, time & date stamp, move & join & dup windows, mono or selectable color, definable Hoi-key 
or non-resident, unloadabic. LAN support, context help, extended ASCII, smart fully adjustable windows, parallel text proces»ng. 
propessivc resolution and “and-or-not" like searching without keywords, and more. COMPATIBITLITY: IBM-PC XT. AT PS2 
and compatibles; mono, CGA, 80 col EGA, and Hercules displays; 60K minimum RAM; 3.5" disk on request. CAPACITY: Up to 
500 windows per pile • 50 piles. Not cop> protected. 


Name:. 

Address:- 


I Chy: 

I State: Zip:. 

Telephone:. 

m m MICROI 

II I LOGICS 

I Dept.T82,1002ndSt.,POB174 
I Hackensack, New Jersey 07602 


O 1987 Micro Lo^. European marketing by Allantex Inc. (203) 655-6980. Trademarks; 1BM-PC/XT/AT/PS2 - IBM 


■ WORM DRIVES 


M 



Look familiar? Il'sthe /SI 525 WC again, this lime with an NiHance laliet. But the changes are 
more than cosmetic: lest scanning software adds value to this drive, making it a winner. 


ers may yeam for the speed of command 
line processing. 

TTie Search function of TextScan will 
probably be its most popular feature, and 
even though it takes roughly 40 percent 
longer than the FIND command in DOS, it 
is far more functional and complete. 



N/Hance 525 Optical Disk Sy.slem 
Symphony Systems Inc. 

N/Hance Systems Division 
908 Pmvidcnce Hwy. 

Dedham. M A 02025 
(617)461-1970 
List Price; $2,950 

Requires: 2.56K RAM. one floppy disk 
drive, one half-length slot. DOS 3.0orlater. 
In Short: An excellent software enhance- 
ment to an already gtxxl WORM drive, the 
ISI .525 WC. The text retrieval software is a 
worthwhile addition to a drive whose perfor- 
mance rates at the top of the heap. 

ciRCLEaasONncADtFistnvictcAno 


Searches can comprise up to eight phrase 
fields (each up to 20 characters long) in 
two groups, ^ the field entries can be 
linked together with the logical operators 
AND, OR, NOT. While not a logical op- 
erator per se, the Proximity relationship 
can be used to allow only those entries to 
be found that coexist within a specified 
number of lines, fiom 0 to 99. Where the 
DOS FIND command can examine the 
contents of only one file at a time, Text- 
Scan' % Search function can be set to exam- 
ine the contents of up to 500 files at a single 
sitting. Such batching of search cotrunands 
allows you to initiate a search and go have 
a cup of coffee while the program does 
your work for you . When the cup is empty, 
you can come back and examine the results 
of what would have required hours (not to 
mention an absurd number of keystrokes) 
to perform using DOS. 

File compression becomes particularly 
attractive when storing files on a WORM 
drive. Remember, only a finite number of 
files can be placed on any WORM drive, 
and although the media is replaceable, at 


rjT[jE D I T O R ’ S 
Me H O I C E 


• ISI 525 WC 

• N/Hance 525 Optical Disk 
System 


When PC Magazine first loolced at 
WORM drives (June 23 , 1987), they 
were full of promise but short on 
performance. Half a year later, at 
least tivo products have made the 
wail worthwhile. The ISI 525 WC, 
in pan for its excellent drive u.ssem- 
hly and controller but even more so 
for the outstanding WORM-TOS de- 
vice driver, gets a nod for e.xception- 
al data throughput peiformance . Its 
only weukne.ss is the backup utility 
which, frankly, i.'tn'l needed— the 
DOS XCOPY command can he used 
in its place. 

Symphony Systems' NiHance 
525 Optical Disk System combines 
the .same quality drive and device 
driver software from ISI with its ex- 
cellent TextScan software package, 
resulting in a versatile te.xl retrieval 
system. 


prices up to $250 per cartridge, it’s not ex- 
actly cheap (see the sidebar, “Two Sides 
of the Same Coin”). 

TextScan's file compression function 
can reduce storage space by as much as 50 
percent, and the resultant files are fully ac- 
cessible to the Search function but not to 
other applications. Files that have been 
compressed are recognizable by their 
.CMP extension. Naturally, a decompres- 
sion function is also part of the package; 
after files have been returned to their nor- 
mal state, so is their filename extension. 

The ISl optical drive with its WORM- 
TOS device driver software need make no 
apologies for its performance. When com- 
bined with Symphony Systems’ excellent 
TextScan data retrieval software, it’s even 
better. SS 


Frank Bican is a departmental computer 
resources supervisor at a Cleveland medi- 
cal center. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
224 



HEADSTART 

BEATS 

LEADING EDGE! 


The Headstart computer 

system, dearly has the 

edge over Leading Edg e. 


Epsorfand Tandy^on 

counts where it counts! 

First of all. Headstart 
comes complete, so there's 
nothing else to buy. Just take 
it home and plug it in. Its 
ease of use and versatility 
will amaze you as you dis- 
cover Headstart is perfect 
for leisurely applications at 
home, as well as being a 
powerful business tool 
which can satisfy the 
demands of an office 
where speed and ease 
of operation mean 
more productivity 

Headstart challenges you to com- 
pare its features, performance and 
M inriKd to » in only value to any XT, 

2 i™-nwirt»o. m including IBM.» 

You'll find that 




Headstart has one thing 
no other P.C. has-the 
award-winning 
Headstart Operating 
System. It will speed 
you through operations 
like never before, while 
allowing you to fully 
utilize the gratifying 
power at your fingertips. 
It's no wonder leading 
publications rated 
Headstart one of the 
best PC.'s ever! You get 
it all with Headstart, 
including all the impor- 
tant popular software 
programs, making 
it an even greater 
value. 


book”. 



So take the challenge 
and compare before you 
buy. Call 1-800-882-1888 
for the Headstart dealer 
nearest you. 


MAGAZINE 


F.IUTOR'S 

CHOICE 


'EADSMRT" 


— "King Kong" Bundy 
Hravywrighl Wnsilrr 


byVENDEX 


"It will bring out the genius in you!" 

Wndrx PMific, Inc., 40 Cutter Mill RomI, Great Neck. NY tl021 

WrMlcx Turtx>888>XT Headstart Com|wter System is a tradrtoark ot Wndex Pacific. Inc. IBM, XT is a trademark of Intematkinal Business Machine Corp. 1988 Wndex Pacific. Inc. All rights reserved. 

CIRCLE 731 ON READER SERVICE CARD 






ONE YEAR COMPLETE WARRANTY. 


mC- 286/12 $945 

OS/2 READY Base System 



• 80286-12 CPU 0 wait state 

• Landmark CPU test 16 MHz 

• 8 expansion slots (6-16 Bit. 2-8 Bit) 

• 512K Standard RAM expandable to 1MB 

• Phoenix BIOS 

• Clock calendar with battery backup 

• Dual combined flof^/hard disk controller 

• 1.2MB Hoppy disk drive 

• Serial and Parallel port 

• 101 enhanced MAXISWTTCH keyboard 

• 200W power supply with 110V/220V 


Jtnc- 286/10 

Base System $875 

* Same as sbove with 80286-10 CPU 0 wait state 

• Landmark CPU Test 13.3 MHz 


i>nC 88 TURBO 
12MHz Base System $485 

• 8088-1 CPU 0 wait state 

• 4.77/12MHz switchable speed 

• Phoenix BIOS 

• 64CnC RAM on board 

• 8 expansion slots 

• 1 360K floppy disk drive 

• AT type keyboard 

• Multi I/O with floppy controUer 

(1 serial port/1 parallel port/1 game 
port/clock calendar with 
battery backup 

• 150W power supply 


SAMSUNG S-286 $995 

OS/2 READY Base System 

• Same as MIC 286-12 with 80286-8 CPU 0 wait state * Landmark CPU test 10.3 MHz 
• 512k standard RAM expandable to 1MB on board * AWARD BIOS 


SAMSUNG S-286 PLUS 
Base System $1295 

• Same as MIC 286-12 with 80286-10 CPU 0 
wait state 

• 1MB standard RAM on board 

• Small foot print 


SAMSUNG 88 TURBO 
8MHz Base System $559 

• 8088-2 CPU 4.77/8MHz switchable speed 

• Phoenix BIOS 

• 512K RAM expandable to 640K on board 

• 7 expansion slots 

• AT type keyboard 

• 1 serial and 1 parallel port 

• 1 360K floppy disk drive with built-in controller 

• Small foot print 



OPTIONAL PRODUCTS 


MONO COMBO $120 

• Monographics card 

• SAMSUNG 12*' Amber monitor with tilt & 
swivel base 

CGA COMBO $290 

•Cokir card 

• SAMSUNG 14" RGB color monitor with tilt & 
svnvel base 

EGA COMBO $440 

• EGA card 640X550 

• SAMSUNG 14" EGA color monitor %vith tilt & 
swivel base 


NEC MULTISYNC II 

$549 

EGA CARD 


• Paradise Autoswitch 480 

$169 

. Video-7 VEGA DELUXE 

$219 

HARD DISK 


• Seagate ST-225 20MB (65ms) 

$249 

Seagate ST- 251 40MB (39ms) 

$399 

• Miniscribe 6053 44MB (28ms) 

$569 

* Miniscribe 6085 71MB (28ms) 

$799 


INTEL Math co-processor 80287-8 $249 


INTEL Math co-processor 80287-10 $290 
RAM Chips for 80/100/120ns CALL 
5V4 360K floppy disk drive $ 79 
3Vi 72 oK floppy disk drive $125 
Modem Hayes compatible $79/$198 


1200B/2400B 

MS DOS 3.21 w/GW basic $69 

PC DOS 3.3 or MS DOS $98 


3.3 w/GW basic 


IN CA CALL: 
800-543-8868 
TECH SUPPORT & INFO: 
(408) 737-8585 



473 Macara Avenue 
Suite 706 


TO ORDER CALL TOLL FREE; 

1-800-451-8556 


Sunnyvale, CA 94086 


H O M E HOURS: Mo^-Fri. 8:04 w»4:pm<P$T)SMw^ 8M a 


• 12:00 


CIRCLE 202 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



■ CONNECTIVITY ■ 



consider ways to connect hun- 
dreds of PCs, you can quickly 
focus on a few solutions. 
Voice-and-data PBXs from 
companies like Mitel, 
AT&T, System Resource Ex- 
change, and others can handle 
thousands of connections 
made over miles of the tele- 
phone wiring you probably al- 
ready have in the walls of 
your buildings. But these con- 
nections typically transfer 
data at 19.2 kilobits per sec- 
ond, which is an inadequate 
rate for interactive PC pro- 
cessing applications such as 
sorting files in a database. 

If you need more speed in 
your corporate network, you 
should certainly consider Eth- 
ernet in its many forms. Xe- 
rox, DEC. and other compa- 
nies will help you install the 
“frozen orange garden hose” 
Ethernet backbone cable and 
the taps and transceivers 


MAKING 

CONNraiONS 

NORTHERN 

TELECCM’S 

MERIC«AN 

LANStar 

PC 

• 

As has been made clear by our ongoing 
connectivity series, the list of 
network prcxluct choices is seemingly 
endless. What is it. then, about 
the Meridian LANStar PC that has us 
describing it as “the best 
overall corporate networking solution”? 

FRANK J. DERFLER.JR. 


needed to connect to it . As the 
cable gets longer, however, 
the design of the system be- 
comes more complex, and 
you must install devices like 
active repeaters that renegoti- 
ate the eSMA {carrier sense 
multiple access) protocol be- 
tween cable .segments. Ether- 
net performs well, but com- 
pared with twisted-pair 
LANs, it is neither cheap nor 
simple to install in large sys- 
tems. 

Yet. paying for and install- 
ing Ethernet is child's play 
compared with the big-time 
investment required by that 
other cotporate network solu- 
tion: the IBM Token-Ring 
Network. The IBM Token- 
Ring system, supported by 
the IBM Wiring Plan, is ex- 
pensive, bulky, and with its 
mess of cables, ugly. Both 
3Com Corp. and Proteon 
have Token-Ring implemen- 
tations that are easier to main- 


PC MAGAZtNE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
227 


■ MERIDIAN LANSTAR PC 


tain but not cheaper or easier to install . 

Then there’s Northern Telecom’s Me- 
ridian LANStar PC, which carries data for 
thousands of feet at a data rate of 2.56 
megabits per second over twisted-pair tele- 
phone wire. The best overall corporate 
networking solution for PCs I’ve seen, the 
LANStar PC is particularly attractive if 
you need fast access for interactive pro- 
cessing jobs or if you have a network with 
many servers. 

The LANStar PC offers excellent 
throughput. The system we tested was in- 
tegrated with a Banyan DTS DeskTop 
Server running Banyan’s VINES network- 
ing software. Our PC Labs benchmark 
tests reported slightly better performance 
by the Meridian LANStar PC system than 
by thin-cable Ethernet, under certain con- 
ditions. There ate some complex reasons 
for this, but the conclusion you should 
draw is that the LANStar PC gives system 
throughput over twisted-pair telephone 
wiring that rivals the throughput of coaxial 
cable systems. 

LANStar PC systems become practical 
for networks of mote than 32 nodes (serv- 
ers and workstations). A small LANStar 
PC cabinet configuration (the size of a 
dorm-room refrigerator) services up to 1 1 2 
nodes, and a large system (resembling a 
full-size refrigerator) can carry 1 ,344 
nodes. 



FACT 


FILE 


Meridian I.ANStar PC 
Northern Telecom Inc. 

.2l(X)Lukcside Blvd,. Greenwav Bldg. 
Richard«)n. TX 75081 
(2I4)437-K0IX) 

List Price: 32 mxles. S26.335; 1 12 mxics. 
S77.9 1 5; 256 nodes. $ 1 84.9 15; 1 .024 nodes, 
$730,020; 1 .344 mxles. $987,850, Prices are 
for seleclcd systems only and include cabi- 
nets. pf>wer. line cards. PC' cards, and wiring 
fn>m PC to wall jack. Systems can be expand- 
ed at an average price per node of $7(K) to 
$750, 

In Short: Perhaps the best stilutiim for cor- 
pc^raie networks with more than 32 mxles. the 
Meridian LANStar l*C offers fast access f<»r 
interactive pnx'cssing and is an excellent en- 
try into the ISDN ( Integrated .Services Digital 
Network!. 

CIRCLE 07 ON HEADER SERVICE CARO 


SYSTEM COMPONENTS The LAN- 
Star PC has three major elements; an 
equipment cabinet, an interface card for 
each PC, and telephone wire. The network 
interface card is full size, designed for the 
8-bit PC bus, and otherwise unremarkable. 
The standard six-tum-per-inch un.shielded 
telephone wire is available from many 
vendors. If your building was wired for a 
telephone PBX within the last 6 years or 
so, it is likely that you already have the 
right wire in your walls. Every node needs 
two pairs of wire. 

^ch LANStar PC network interface 
card includes a telephone jack, which 
makes it easier to get to the wire pairs run- 
ning in the same cable. You route the tele- 
phone wire from the wall to the LANStar 
PC card and connect the phone to the jack 
in the card. From the wall jack, each cable 
run goes back to a central wiring closet for 
the voice telephone connections. In this 
closet, the pairs used by the telephone and 
the pairs used by the LANStar PC separate 
and go to their re.spective devices. This 
wiring scheme Is not unique to LANStar 
PC; StarLAN is usually wired in the same 
manner. 

The LANStar PC equipment cabinet 
houses the electronic components that 
make up the packet transport equipment 
(PTE). The PTE is a true packet-switching 
system. Many typical PC-based LANs 
such as StarLAN, Ethernet, and Fox Re- 
search’s 10-NET use packets, but their 
packets aren't switched. In both switched 
and nonswitched systems, a packet of data 
is constructed by enclosing all or part of 
the message in an envelope of bits. Every 
bit in the envelope has a purpose, such as 
describing the sender and addressee or 
checking the accuracy of the transmission. 
This packet isn't conceptually very differ- 
ent from the Token-Ring’s “token.” In 
nonswitched packet systems such as Ether- 
net, the packet goes out into the shared net- 
work cable, and every station receives and 
examines it. The station to which the pack- 
et is addressed takes further action, but ev- 
ery active station reads every packet. This 
results in high overhead on the cable and 
requires the use of complex cable-sharing 
access schemes like CSMA and token 
passing. 

In the LANStar PC system, instead of 
every station examining every packet and 


rpT^ The Connectivity 
I B. n Deci.sion Guide 


This chart is designed to help you select 
from among the many information-transfer 
and resource-sharing alternatives. As you 
can see on the chart, if all you really need 
to do is exchange files or share printers, 
then you should consider devices such as 
PBXs and patch boxes. If your organiza- 
tion has not already invested heavily in 
PCs or DOS programs, then a minicom- 
puter might meet your needs more eco- 
nomically. But if you want many users to 
share data files simultaneously under 
DOS. a LAN may be the best alternative. 
Once you've decided on a LAN. the need 
for station-to-station resource sharing and 
other factors will influence your network 
purchasing decision 

Because manufacturers include many 
different features in their networks, some 
products will not fit neatly into one 
decision box in this guide. You'll also find 
that the lack of differentiation between 
LANs is becoming as large a problem in 
the LAN industry as the lack of standards 
was 2 years ago. But overlapping features 
and technical similarity between networks 
are good news for potential buyers. They 
will let you concentrate on more-traditional 
factors such as dealer support and price 
instead of on more-technical con- 
siderations. 

Reviews originally appeared in 
PC Magazine 

* December 9, 1986 

* December 23, 1986 

* January 13, 1987 

* January 27, 1987 

* February 10, 1987 
•• February 24, 1987 
■■ March 31, 1987 

M April 14, 1987 
■I May 26, 1987 
June 9, 1987 

■ June 23, 1987 

■ July 1987 

■ August 1987 

■ September 29, 1987 

■ October 27, 1 987 
I January 12, 1988 
t January 26, 1988 
8 February 16, 1988 
8 March 29, 1988 

Black marker indicates current issue. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
228 




PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
229 


Copyrighted material 













■ MERIDIAN LANS! AR PC 


sharing a common bus, stations have dedi- 
cated connections to the PTE. The PTE 
switches the packets and routes each one 
only to the addressed station. This packet- 
switching system has a couple of draw- 
backs. First, it requires substantially more 
electronics in the switch, and the switch 
becomes a single point of failure. Second, 
the configuration requires that every sta- 
tion have a dedicated cable run to the PTE 


cabinet, so a LANStar PC installation 
takes more wiring than does Ethernet but 
not more than a Token-Ring or a PBX in- 
stallation. 

On the positive side, the telephone wire 
is much cheaper than coaxial cable, espe- 
cially if it has already been installed in the 
right configuration. Additionally, the elec- 
tronics in the switch reduce the load on the 
CPU of every station in the network, and 


because the wiring is not shared, the heavy 
activity of a few stations doesn't slow 
down responses for all stations. The reli- 
ability of the system is enhanced through 
internal redundancy in the switch and par- 
ticularly by the separate wire runs to each 
station. Damage to one wire run does not 
bring down the entire network the way it 
does in a station-to-station physical wiring 
scheme such as thin-cable Ethernet. 

What makes the LANStar PC a viable 
long-term alternative is its relationship to 
the Integrated Services Digital Network 
(ISDN) transmission standard. ISDN is an 
international development program de- 
signed to digitize the telephone systems of 
the world. It is heavily backed by the re- 
gional Bell companies, AT&T, and other 
large organizations. The goal of the ISDN 
initiative is to provide several 64kbps data 
channels in every telephone wall jack. 
ISDN will evolve first in major cities and 
will take a decade or more to reach rural ar- 
eas, but the LANStar PC provides an ex- 
cellent entry to ISDN, for any corporate or 


Northern Telecom's Meridian LANStar PC 
offers excellent throughput, carrying data for 
thousands of feet at a rate of 2. 56 megabits per 
second over twisted-pair telephone wire. The 
system includes an equipment cabinet, an 
interface card for each PC, and telephone wire. 
It offers fast access for interactive processing 
and is one of the most effective systems for 
networks cf more than 32 nodes . 




PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
230 



3Com3t 

NETVUORKSCORPORAn AMERICA 
WITH THE POTENTIAL OF 
OS/I 


Today Corporate America can look 
forward to an era of constantly increasing 
productivity through the extraordinary 
power of IBM’s OS/2. 

Users of 3Com 3+ network system 
software can look forward to maximizing 
that productivity and power now. 

That’s because 3Com 3+ is built on industry 
standards which make it compatible with 
both current network applications and future 
OS/2 workstation and 
server applications. 

3Com 3+ purch- 
ased today is the 
safest and smartest 
investment you 
can make in network 
system software. 

3Com 3-1- productivity is being increased 
even more by Microsoft’s OS/2 LAN Manager 
—the networking environment of OS/2 
which is under co-development by Microsoft 
and 3Com. 

That means that users of 3Com 3-1- can 


0SI2 


OS/2. It will revolutionize the 
productivity of Corporate America. 



enjoy the benefits of running OS/2 on their 
networks today, while they protect their 
system investment & 
guarantee maximum 
network productivity 
in the future. 

So as Corporate 
America embraces 
OS/2... 

Remember one 
simple fact. 

3Com 3-1- network system software allows 
you to use the potential and power of OS/2 
throughout your network now. 

While allowing you to optimize OS/2 work- 
station and server applications in the future. 

It’s just one more reason why 3Com 3-1- 
network system software has become a 
Corporate America standard. 

For your nearest 3Com dealer, call 
l-800-NET-3Com. 


3Com 3+ . Desiincd lo become ihc 
Mold standard fur OS 2 networking. 


3Com 



O >987 3Com Corporalion. .3Com and .3-f are reKistered irademarLsof 3Com Corporation. Micn.>soft is a registered trademark and OS/2 LAN Manager is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. 
IBM is a regi-Slered trademark and OS 2 is a irudcmark of International Business Macliines Corporation. 

CIRCLE 238 ON READER SERVICE CARD 






■ MERIDIAN LANSTAR PC 


group network. Northern Telecom’s de- 
signers understand ISDN, and the LAN- 
Star PC packet is designed to carry the 
ISDN 64- and 16-kiIobit data channels. 

LINKING WITH VINES Like Ethernet 
and Token-Ring, the LANStar PC is only a 
connection scheme. The connection 
doesn't let an end user really do anything 
with the system. There has to be some soft- 
ware in order to communicate througb the 
connection the LANStar PC provides. 
Northern Telecom supplies NETBIOS 
with the LANStar cards, so networking 
programs such as Tapestry and IBM’s PC 
Local Area Network Program run on the 
system. You could establish a network of 
rcs and allow various PCs to contribute 
resources to the network using these pro- 
grams. 

Northern Telecom established a techni- 
cal and marketing arrangement with Ban- 
yan Systems to integrate Banyan’s VINES 
with the LANStar PC. A VINES software 
shell runs with DOS in every LANStar PC 
workstation. The VINES software includes 
the code needed to redirect DOS requests 
to and from the LANStar PC network in- 
terface card. The requests are formed into 
packets and sent to the PTE, where they 
are put onto the dedicated connection to 
the Banyan server. 

A LANStar PC interface card placed in 
a Banyan server links the server to the 
PTE. At the same time, network interface 
cards from other manufacturers placed in 
the Banyan server can link it to strings of 
PCs connected over Ethernet, StarLAN, 
Token-Ring, or any of the other network 
systems the Banyan software supports. All 
of the stations connected to the server by 
these various cabling and access schemes 
share the same files and services under 
VINES. In this way, a LANStar PC system 
can integrate with many other types of PC- 
based LANs. You needn’t abandon exist- 
ing network cards and wiring to expand 
with a LANStar PC system. 

MULTIPLE SERVERS The VINES 
naming scheme lets you have hundreds of 
servers on the same network, so a user isn’t 
limited to the resources of one server at a 
time. This is particularly important in sys- 
tems in which you want to put different ap- 
plications on different servers to distribute 


the work load and reduce the risk of system 
failure. VINES is not unique in this cap- 
ability — most of the major network operat- 
ing systems have it — but being able to use 
multiple servers on the same network be- 
comes particularly important in large in- 
stallations. 

For example, it is relatively simple to 
set up a LANStar PC and VINES system so 
that someone working on a PC has Server 
I ’s files assigned as the PC’s G: drive and 
Server 2’s files assigned as its H: drive. 

■ You needn’t abandon 
existing network cards 
and wiring to expand with 
a LANStar PC system. 


You can create this virtual drive arrange- 
ment using Ethernet or Token-Ring cards 
to make the connection, too, but there is an 
interesting difference. 

Suppose someone with workstation 
drives configured as I just described on an 
Ethernet network issues the DOS com- 
mand COPY G:’*.* H:, and G; is a loaded 
hard disk drive. DOS on the workstation 
will work with VINES on the workstation 
and with VINES running on Servers 1 and 
2 to move files, packet by packet, from 
Server I to the workstation and back out to 
Server 2. Other busy stations on the net- 
work are likely to experience slower net- 
work response times because of a heavy 
network load — even if they ate using some 
other server. Since all messages travel on 
the same bus in typical PC-based LANs, a 
few busy stations slow down response 
times for everyone. 

If the LANStar PC is used for the con- 
nection in this scenario, anyone using 
Server 1 or 2 will still experience delays 
because of heavy server activity, but peo- 
ple using other servers won’t be bothered. 
Because dedicated lines go to each ma- 
chine from the packet switch, the activities 
of a few don’t affect the many. 

There is a limitation on the ability of the 
switch to handle data, but its capacity is 
more than 40 megabits per second of data. 


That means 40Mbps of data in the switch. 
Considering the other limitations of the PC 
internal architecture and hard disk drives, 
the throughput of the packet switch is the 
least likely thing to limit the system. 

The LANStar PC and VINES combina- 
tion uses the Banyan server for all other in- 
terconnections. Multiple LANStar PC 
switches are connected by a server-to- 
server communications link. Modem, 
X.25, 3270, and other connections are all 
made through the servers. This configura- 
tion simplifies the operation of the LAN- 
Star switch and leaves the gateway com- 
munications tasks under the control of 
VINES. The VINES software has particu- 
larly strong communications capabilities 
and is well suited to this role. 

The cost it is bard to compare the 
prices of the different corporate network- 
ing alternatives. If sufficient twisted-pair 
telephone wiring is already available, the 
wiring cost for tbe LANStar PC is elimi- 
nated; on the other hand, you probably 
can’t ignore the costs of installing Token- 
Ring or Ethernet wiring. You could con- 
sider making the installation of certain 
types of Ethernet a do-it-yourself project; 
but with the LANStar PC, a vendor always 
installs the equipment. Finally, because of 
the initial price of the switch, the LANStar 
PC has a high cost-per-station rate for a 
few stations, but that figure drops as more 
stations are added to the network. 

Wiring costs aside. Northern Telecom 
says that the cost of the LANStar PC runs 
from below $700 to just over $800 per sta- 
tion. This includes the packet switch 
equipment cabinet and its internal cards, 
the PC network interface card, and wiring 
from the PC to the wall jack. You should 
add 3 to 5 percent for equipment redundan- 
cy in the packet switch. At do-it-yourself 
prices, you can pay from $250 to $600 
each for Ethernet cards. If you use the 
more expensive version of Ethernet with 
cable taps and transceivers, the cost rises to 
$800 per node, and you probably won’t do 
much of the work yourself. At IBM’s 
prices, the Token-Ring Network averages 
about $800 per node. In equipment prices 
alone, the LANStar PC is competitive with 
vendor-installed Token-Ring and Ethernet 
alternatives. These equipment prices could 
be important or minor, relative to the cost 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
232 








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■ MERIDIAN LANSTAR PC 


E r Q Benchmark Tests: 

Meridian LANStar PC 


O ur tests show that Northern Telecom's 
Meridian LANStar PC holds its own 
against Ethernet and other media*sharing 
systems with higher-rated transmission 
speeds. The reported times for VINES run- 
ning on the Banyan server with 3Com 
EtherLink cards would have been improved 
by using an interface card with more buffer- 
ing. like the 3Com EtherLink Plus. However, 
a standard LANStar PC card was used in the 
server during the tests of the Northern Tele- 
com system. Although we didn't test it in a 
multiserver environment, the LANStar PC 
system should provide efficient performance 
when multiple servers are active on a 
network. 


The PC Labs LAN benchmark tests are wntten in C and are 
independent ol commercial software. We ran the tests on a 
lest -bed of five 8-MHz AT s. For our test-bed to belter stcrui- 
late the conditiorts on a medium-size rretwork ol 20 or more 
workstations, we have desigrwd these loading tests so that 
a single station represents five to ten times the load of a 
user performing an Interactive task (tor example, updating 
records) on a network 

By themselves, the elapsed limes reported in these tests 
are not meaningful They are valuable only when used to 
compare the performances of two or more systems running 
under near -identical conditions. Accordingly, we include the 
tests run on our Editor^ Choice configuration of a 3Com 
3Server3. 3 1 Share software, and EtherLink interface 
cards to provide a point of companson. We also show re- 
suits from a network of Novell^ Advanced NelWafe'286, 
EtherLink cards, and an IBM PC AT as the server. Ad- 
vanced NetWare is our Editors Choice lor networking soft- 
ware. and our tested configuration is a typical one. 

The Network Speed Under Load and the Hard Disk 
Access Load benchmark tests measure the time needed 
to perform a standardized task on the network WNe the 
actual work loads used lor these two tests (described be- 
low) are different, we used the same procedures for both, 
lb obtain the elapsed times shown here, we ran a bench- 
mark program p^orrnmg a sequertlial create, a sequential 
read, a sequential write, a random read, and a random wnte 
ol a large Me. The record sizes used in these activities 
systematically rotate between 16K. 4K. and 512 bytes. The 
numbers shown in the three-dimensional chart are the total 


time necessary for all of these operations. We ran the lest 
on all of our ATs to load the network while timing |usl or>e of 
them We then reduced the number of workstations one at a 
lime to show the effect of loading on the network. 

The Network Speed Under Load test puts a heavy load 
on the network interface (cards, media, arxf so torth) while 
placing a minimaJ load on the hard disk by havtrtg each 
station continuously read and write its own i-byle data file, 
changing the data each lime. For systems with disk cach- 
ing. the load on the hard disk is even smaller, since cached 
systems typically perform a disk wnte but do not require a 
physical disk read 

The Hard Disk Access Load test heavily loads the hard 
disk and disk -caching system. To do this, each station ran- 
domly accesses its own fOOK data file using 1 K records. 
Data wntten to the fife is changed each time. The rarxlom 
reads typically access data outside the cache, which forces 
a disk read, as does any wnte 

The Database Load test exercises the system's record- 
locking support ar>d the way it harxltes a number of random 
simuHaneous accesses to a common file . This lest times 
how fast each loading station accesses a common data- 
base conststir>g of an index and a data Me. Hall the ac- 
cesses are simple searches of the index file and an 
accompanying access to a record in the data file. One quar- 
ter of the accesses perform the same operation but also 
lock the data record and update its contents. The remairwng 
accesses update the index file and a data record. The index 
hie is locked durirtg every update af>d the DOS 3.1 RLOCK 
statement prevents simultaneous index file updates 


Network Speed Under Load 

Performance Times 


(Times given m secortds) 

Server 

Interface card 

Software 

Zero 

stations 

One 

station 

Two 

stations 

Three 

stations 

Four 

stations 

Five 

stations 

sii 

stations 

Seven 

stations 

Banyan DTS DeskTop 
Server 

Meridian LANStar PC 

vwes 

687 

762 

935 

1.085 

1,238 

1.463 

1.718 

1.878 

Banyan DTS DeskTop 
Server 

EtherLink 

VINES 

479 

812 

1.067 

1.225 

1,320 

1.650 

1,775 

1.925 

3Com 3Server3 

EtherLink 

3 + Shan 

306 

432 

529 

651 

761 

866 

1.122 

1.233 

a-MHzIBM PC AT 

EtherLink 

Advanced NetWarei2d6 

264 

280 

301 

310 

322 

345 

349 

368 

Hard Disk Access Load 
Performance Times 

(T imes given in seconds) 

Server interface card 

Software 

Zero 

stations 

One 

station 

Two 

stations 

Three 

stations 

Four 

stations 

Five 

stations 

Siz 

stations 

Seven 

stations 

Banyan DTS DeskTop 
Server 

Meridian LANStar PC 

VINES 

332 

431 

614 

907 

1.414 

1.812 

1.924 

2,220 

Banyan DTS DeskTop 
Server 

EtherLink 

VINES 

218 

504 

721 

960 

1,331 

1.540 

1.608 

1.994 

3Com 3Server3 

EtherLink 

3+ Share 

155 

227 

330 

419 

522 

620 

902 

1,263 

8-MHz IBM PC AT 

EtherLink 

Advanced NetWarei286 

136 

150 

162 

174 

182 

187 

210 

227 

Database Load 
Performance Times 

(T ^mes given in seconds) 

Server 

Interface card 

Software 

Zero 

stations 

One 

station 

Two 

stations 

Three 

stations 

Four 

stations 

Five 

stations 

Sii 

stations 

Seven 

stations 

Banyan DTS DeskTop 
Server 

Meridian LANStar PC 

VINES 

332 

468 

446 

533 

630 

667 

806 

990 

Banyan DTS DeskTop 
Server 

EtherLink 

VINES 

218 

422 

520 

612 

722 

780 

910 

1.083 

3Com 3Server3 

EtherLink 

3-*-Share 

155 

298 

425 

585 

669 

799 

824 

901 

S-MHzIBM PC AT 

EtherLink 

Advanced NelWarei286 

136 

169 

212 

280 

305 

406 

472 

593 


PC MAGAZINE a MARCH2 9. 1988 
234 






Network Speed Under Load 


' 500 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
235 


Copyrighted material 


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■ MERIDIAN LANSTAR PC 


of installing the wiring in the walls of a 
particular building. 

The LANStar PC system is sold in two 
different cabinets, a smaller one for sys- 
tems with from 32 to 112 nodes, and a 
larger cabinet that’s practical for systems 
with from 256 to the maximum of 1 ,344 
nodes. They both require AC power and 
some reasonable ventilation. You don’t 
have to throw away all the electronics if 
your system grows beyond your first ex- 
pectations. 

OUR TESTS Like every good LAN , the 
LANStar PC system is invisible in opera- 
tion. Anyone using the system sees only 
the networking software. A good network 
administrator usually hides even this from 
the users by creating batch files. 

Our evaluation system was installed in 
seven PCs and a Banyan server with the 
mere click and snap of RJ-II telephone 
jacks. The most time-consuming part of 
the installation consisted of copying the 
VINES workstation files onto bootable 
DOS floppy disks. The seven 8-MHz IBM 
PC ATs were occupied in loading the net- 
work and server, with the net effect equal 
to the operation of two dozen PCs. 

Our benchmark test results showed that 
the LANStar PC’s performance is compet- 
itive with alternatives like Token-Ring and 
Ethernet. In some cases, it performed bet- 
ter than a “thin-net" Ethernet system us- 
ing the same server, workstations, and 
networking software. The orderly delivery 
of packets to the server allowed it to oper- 
ate at top efficiency. 

Adding buffering to the Ethernet card in 
the server (in the form of a 3Com Ether- 
Link Plus card) would improve Ethernet’s 
performance in our single-server test. But 
the point is that large networks typically 
have many servers, and adding mote serv- 
ers and stations to an Ethernet network 
would slow it down again. We expect the 
packet-switched system to remain efficient 
with many servers and stations. 

If you’re responsible for installing a 
network with hundreds of PCs , you should 
look at the Meridian LANStar PC, from 
Northern Telecom, as an alternative to me- 
dia-sharing network solutions. BQ 


FrankJ. Derfler, Jr. , is a contributing edi- 
tor of PC Magazine. 


Registeretj Tradcmarlca: OKIDATA. Old Amehca. Inc., Maique 
d^posM de Ok) Axnehca, Inc. H^«s. Hayn Mknxnfiiputcr Pn>- 
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PC Digest. National Softwan; Testing Laboratories. Inc. Rated II by 
PC Digest August 1987 issue covering 1200 bps m^ms. 


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PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
236 


The class drive 
AFdass conmuters. 



TheST251 

features autopark with a 
balanced positioner, which eliminates 
the need for a locking mechanism. Reliability 
is assured because the drive is built at Seagate’s auto- 
mated manufecturing fecility, using oiu own printed 
circuit board assembly. 

Our field-proven, proprietary stepper motors match 
the fest access time normally found only with the more 
expensive voice coil actuators. 

Features like these have made Seagate the leading 
independent manufecturer of small disc drives in 514" 
and ZW form factors. And they’ve made the ST251 the 
class of the AT class. 

40 megabytes. 40 milliseconds. 

Why settle for less in your AT? 

Call Seagate. 800-468-DISC. 

*1BM, XT and AT are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp. Seagate and 

are trademarks ofSea^te Technology. 


If you’re willing to settle for less, you can put other 
drives in your AT-class computer. 

But if you want AT-class performance fi'om your hard 
disc drive, there’s only one choice. 

Seagate’s ST251. 

The ST251 is the 40 MB half-height drive designed 
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With 40 msec access time, the ST251 delivers cost- 
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TheSr251 


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Productivity 


■ PC LAB NOTES: LASER PRINTERS ■ CAROLINE HALLIDAY 

Custom-designing 

YOUR OWN FONTS 

Though you can buy and edit commercial fonts, you can save money and learn more about 
how your LaserJet works if you take a more creative approach. 


T he font downloading and handling 
techniques discussed by Craig L. 
Starit in the previous issue will meet 
the needs of many readers. Generating 
fonts from “font outline" packages (such 
as those from Bitstream or ^ftCraft) gives 
you control over sizes and assures consis- 
tent. professionally designed typefaces. A 
multitude of additional vendors can supply 
fonts in still other typefaces, though their 
quality varies considerably. 

Commercial downloadable fonts, how- 
ever, whether ready-made or generated 
from font outline packages, may not be the 
solution you desire. For one thing, their 
expense is by no means negligible. More- 
over, while it is undoubtedly faster to 
modify existing characters with a font edi- 
tor than to design your own soft font, 
you'll learn more about the operation of 
your LaserJet II and its programming con- 
trol language (PCL) if you roll your own. 
But be forewarned: preparing your own 
downloadable font from scratch is not for 
the fainthearted. The system is detailed in 
the HP Technical Reference manual and 
all of the information is there. I’ll illustrate 
the process with a few letters you can see 
printed out on the sample landscape and 
portrait pages. 

Designing your own custom fonts for 
downloading to the printer requires under- 
standing the system used to specify the 
font. The soft font that is to be downloaded 
to the printer consists of three parts: the 
font descriptor for the font as a whole, plus 
a character descriptor and the actual bit 
data for each character in the font. HP rec- 
ommends that any soft font that is generat- 


ed should be made to work across the 
whole LaserJet family. (Features such as 
the ability to use a different width line for 
the underscore stroke are not available on 
the series II printer, but other, more-so- 


I'RODUCTIVIT^ INDEX 


PC LAB NOTES 

Generating LaserJet fonts from scratch 
for the do-it-yourselfer. 

UTILITIES 

CALC is a utility you can count on for 

math operations in many bases. 

ENVIRONMENTS 

How C Library functions can get 

tangled in multiple threads. 

POWER PROGRAMMING 
C’s output formatting function printf 
can even lend help to MASM. 
SPREADSHEET CLINIC 
Demolishing a block of characters; 
when (ffiAVG won’t average out. 
USER-TO-USER 
Control characters on the command 
line; GOTO- less batch file calling. 
POWER USER 

Cross-reference hunter for dBASE; 
macros that help type in Hebrew. 
LANGUAGES 

Prompt messages on the move in 
BASIC; Turbo Pascal looping advice. 
PC TUTOR 

Workable/impossible monitor combos; 
ready or not disk drive checkup. 
CONNECTIVITY CLINIC 
Conserving paper with the new PC 
IAN update; cost-cutting LAN tips. 


phisticated models do accommodate these 
features.) 

FONT DESCRIPTOR The font de- 
scriptor consists of 64 bytes of data. The 
table “Font Descriptor Format” shows the 
format for the descriptor. All of the bytes 
labeled “reserved” should be set to zero. 
The font descriptor contains the width and 
height for a cell that will be sufficient for 
every character that will be in the font. 
Other features common within the font, 
such as the underline position, ate also 
specified in the font descriptor. 

A typical character cell is shown in the 
diagram “Character Descriptor Cell.” Its 
height and width ate expressed in units of 
dots. The character’s baseline, an imagi- 
nary line on which the character sits, is a 
specific distance down from the top of the 
character cell. The underline distance is a 
certain number of dots below the baseline, 
and the underline height is the number of 
dots in the underline character. The 
xHeight specification is the height of the 
character “x” from the baseline. These 
last two are not shown in the diagram, as 
they are ignored by the LaserJet. 

Using the information gained from 
drawing out the font character cell and tak- 
ing care to ensure that the units are correct, 
you can generate the character descriptor. 
The DEBUG script file used to generate 
the downloaded portrait font used in the 
sample pages is shown in Figure I . The 
‘ ‘ B it-Pattem-to-Hexadecimal Conversion 
Chart” shows how different graphed 
shapes are translated into the DEBUG 
script, using the procedure described in my 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
239 




! ■ PC LAB NOTES 


previous (February 29, 1988) Lab Notes. 

The diagram "Portrait Character De- 
scriptor Cell" shows the character cell for 
the portrait font that is u.scd in the sample 
pages. The character height and width 
must be less than or equal to the font de- 
scriptor character cell. The left offset dic- 
tates the number of blank dot positions that 
will be on the left-hand side of the charac- 
ter from the font character cell when it is 
printed. The top offset dimension is the 
distance from the baseline to the top of the 
character. The delta x dimension for the 
character is the distance that the horizontal 
position will be incremented to the right 
when the character has been printed. The 
minimum value for this distance must be 
greater than the sum of the left offset and 
the character width. Note that this dis- 
tance, which is actually used only for pro- 
portionally spaced fonts, is measured in 
units of quarter dots and is rounded off to 
an integer dot. The format for the character 
descriptor data is shown in the table 
‘ ‘Character Descriptor Format . ’ ’ 

The graphics data that is sent to the 
printer for the character must be a whole 
number of bytes for each row. The number 


of dots in each row should be extended to 
the next multiple of 8 by using padding ze- 
ros. The distances in the first section of the 
character descriptor do not include any 
padding zeros — only the image data itself. 

The format descriptor for a landscape 
font is different from its equivalent portrait 
font descriptor font only in the orientation 
byte. The character descriptor is very dif- 
ferent, however. The diagram “Land- 
scape Character Descriptor Cell” shows 
the dimensions for a landscape version of 
the sample character. 

DOWNLOADING A SOFT FONT The 

various soft font commands fall into two 
general categories: creation and manage- 


ment. The management commands allow 
you to specify a soft font ID number, make 
a soft font temporary or permanent, or dc- ' 
lete it. 

To create a soft font, the font ID should 
be specified, then the font descriptor head- 
er, and then the font descriptor data. Each 
character in turn is then transmitted to the 
printer by sending the character code, the 
character descriptor, and the character ! 
data. The Escape sequence to assign a font , 
ID of 1 is 

Esc*clD ! 

I 

The font descriptor header includes the 1 
length of the font descriptor data (64 bytes I 
forthe LaserJet). The sequence to send this j 


e 

100 

00 

40 

00 

01 

00 

00 

00 

96 

00 

64 

00 

C8 

00 

00 

01 

15 

e 

110 

01 

90 

03 

20 

01 

40 

00 

00 

00 

03 

00 

02 

00 

00 

FB 

03 

e 

120 

03 

20 

01 

90 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

e 

130 

53 

41 

4D 

50 

4C 

45 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

r 

cx 

















40 

















w 


















q 



















F)gur« 1 : A DEBUG script file to create a font descriptor. 



Character Descriptor Cell 



Th* basic parts of a character cad. Tha units that are used vary: soma dstancM are 
axprassad in dots and others are in units of quarter dots. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9, 1988 
240 












PRODUCTIVITY 


font descriptor header is 
Esc)se4W[e4 bytes of data] 

The square brackets are not part of the Es- 
cape sequence. The script file shown for 
the font descriptor contains the 64 bytes of 
data that describe the font. 

The Escape sequence that assigns the 
character code for the letter “A” to the fol- 
lowing downloaded character is 

Esc*c4lE 

The Escape sequeiKe for the character to 
be downloaded will vary somewhat de- 
pending on the size of the character. The 
value in the Escape sequence represents 
the number of bytes that are in the charac- 
ter descriptor and the graphics image of the 
character. 

For example, if the file size for the char- 
acter descriptor and graphics image is 
1 136 (as in the sample portrait font “A"), 
the Escape sequence is 

Ebc( ■ 1136W [ 1136 bytes of character dea- 
criptor and dot image data] 

[The above should be a single line. Be- 
cause of iheir length — 1 136 bytes for each 


■ Designing your own 
font is a lengthy process, 
but the satisfaction 
of succeeding is great. 


of 6 portrait sample letters and 988 each 
for their landscape counterparts — we can- 
not print these files here. To check your 
work, download these fdes from the PC- 
IRS.—Ed.] 

FAULT-FINDING A SOFT FONT 

Fault-finding a downloaded font is not 
easy; unless the descriptor is correct, it is 
rejected by the printer. First, just send a 
font descriptor and make the font a perma- 
nent soft font. The font with an ID of I is 
made permanent by using the soft font 
management command sequence 

Esc»cld5F 


Then use the front panel of the printer to 
print the resident fonts. If the font descrip- 
tor has the correct syntax, there will be an 
entry on the sample fonts under the listing 
of “PERMANENT SOFT FONTS”. 
Make corrections to the descriptor until the 
H-P font sample page shows the correct 
pitch and point size. Remember both that a 
smaller v^ue for the pitch means that the 
characters are spaced farther apart and that 
there are 72 points in an inch. 

Once the font itself can be downloaded, 
try downloading the character descriptor 
and data for the letter “A”. This too will 
appear on a printout of the font sample 
page. Once the first couple of characters 
are correct, the rest can be sent and a text 
file that prints all of the alphabet can be 
used to DEBUG the full set. 

Designing your own font is a fairly 
lengthy process, but the satisfaction of suc- 
ceeding is great. It is possible to design a 
font with only a couple of characters in it, 
say, just enough letters to produce the 
name of your newsletter. 

The Users Manual for the LaserJet se- 
ries II contains a list of all of the Escape 
codes that can be used on the printer. There 


Portrait Character Descriptor Cell 

Byle 

^ 4 padding 



AH of the characters in a given font nfusl have the same erientabon 


Landscape Character Descriptor Cell 



Byte 

padding 

boundary 


•4 Character ► 
height (60) 

Top offset ^ 

( 70 ) 

OelUa ^ 
(78) 


Landscape characters require different btl patterns from the portrait characters. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9,1988 


241 



■ PC LAB NOTES 


PRODUCTIVITY 


are additional variations on the com- 
mands. such as deleting all of the tempo- 
rary fonts or selected temporary fonts, that 
were not detailed in these articles but are 
intuitive when the basic principles are un- 
derstood. 

SAMPLE PAGES Two sample pages 
have been included to illustrate some of the 
printer features described here and in the 
February 29, 1988, issue. One is a portrait 
page shown in Figure 2 and the other is a 
landscape page shown in Figure 3. The 
codes used to create each page are listed in 
Figures 4 and 5 . Remember that when you 
are entering them for yourself, the letters 
Esc must be replaced by the actual ASCII 
Escape code (decimal 27), and that all 
lines that begin with a three-character- 
width space are actually direct continua- 
tions of the previous line of code. [We had 
to break long lines in order to print 
them. — Ed.] 

The portrait page uses relative and ab- 
solute cursor positioning in both rows and 
columns, and dots to move the cursor. The 


Bit-Pattern-to-Hexadecimal 
Conversion Chart 

At 300 dpi, an image ttiat is 4 bits wide is 
very small, measuring 0.013 inches. 



Character Descriptor Format 

Value set for 


Byta numbar Description 

Type 

Laser Jet 


0 

Format 

Unsigned byte 

4 


1 

Continuation 

Boolean 



2 

Descriptor size 

Unsigned byte 

14 


3 

Class 

Unsigned byte 

1 


4 

Orientation 

Unsigned byte 



5 

Reserved 




6-7 

Left offset 

Signed integer 



8-9 

Top offset 

Signed integer 



10-11 

Character width 

Unsigned integer 



12-13 

Character height 

Unsigned integer 



14-15 

Delta X 

Signed integer 



16-64 

Character data 





The orientation, left offset, and top offset change when orientation of 
the font Is changed. 


PC HAOSZIHB LASER PRINTER LAB NOTES, PART 2, 6AHPLE PORTRAIT PAOB 


SAMPLE GRAPHICS IKAGE AT DIFFERENT RBSOLUTIONS 




(Led) Gretf<lci lawe* a< 1W elth 
a $n gray scale behind it. (light) 
Craphlcs loage at WD dpi eith in gray. 


1 ? 


SAMPLE OF CmtSOR POSITIQWINC COMMANDS PUSH AND POP. 

The first cursor position is pushed: popped/ the old cursor position is restorad. 
then the cursor is aoved. When the cursor is 


SAMPLE MACRO CALLED AND EXECUTE D. 

Storing the graphics iaage as a nacro allows it to be printed repeatedly 
without resending the data. 

the curaer pMitian It not pretarvad attar Uta purh baterc a macre and pad altar 

a aacre ia aallad or aRtcutad. is prasarira lha cwraer poaitien. 










¥ 


SAMPLE PORTRAIT SOFT FONT 

A soft font can be downloaded to the printer and then used: 


RBEQEF 


Figure 2: PORTPAGE sample page. The soft font information is sent before the print commands. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9.1988 
242 









\ 


Standaid-28690 

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PC Magazine 
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industry-standard 14” tube size EGA monitor (13” screen), 

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Gray face plate for ATs . . . $109 

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Mini Vacuum for 
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25^>ln X(2C) $23 

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I* R (> I) V C T- 1 V I T Y 


■ PC LAB NOTES 


PC MAGAZINE LASER PRINTER LAB NOTES, PART 2, SAMPLE LANDSCAPE PAGE 


SAMPLE GRAPHICS IMAGE. 

Correct lendteape graphic* iiaage alth rotated data 

V 

SAMPLE MACRO CALLED AND EXECUTED. 

Storing the graphics image as a macro allows it to be printed repeatedly without resending the data. 

Setting tha resolution outtide the Mcro allows the iawg* to be printed at different resolution* from the sane aiacro. 

SAMPLE PORTRAIT SOFT FONT 

A soft font can be downloaded to the printer and then used: 

H B [ D E F 

A table outline can be overlaid on every subsequent page by the use of the overlay command. 

The shaded area behind the soft font is an overlay. 


Sane image if downloaded without rotating the data. 


Figure 3: LANDPAGE sample page. Forms can be automatically generated using the overlay command. 


B*c*clDEgc)s64W{64 bytes of (oat descriptor dsts| 

Bsc*c65BBsc(sll34W[1136 bytes of character descriptor data for A] 

Bsc*c6fiBBBc(sll36w[1134 bytes of character descriptor data for B] 

Bsc*c67BBsc(sll3$W(113( bytes of character descriptor data for C] 

Bsc*c€BBBsc(s 1136W[113€ bytes of character descriptor data for O] 

Bsc*c69BBbc(s 1134W[1136 bytes of character descriptor data for B] 

Bsc*c70BBbc(s 1136W[1134 bytes of character descriptor data for P] 

Bsc*cld5P 

Escaalr8CBac(s3BPC MAGAZINE LASER PRINTER LAB NOTES, PART 2, SAMPLE PORTRAIT 
PAOBBbc<S0B 

BBC*p200x0yBsc*c3030aSb0p5al30b0P 

Bsc*p200zl20TEsc*c3030a5b0P 

Bsc«p2230x0TEsc*c5al25b0P 


Bsc4a5r0CEscad0D8AMPL8 GRAPHICS IMAGE AT OIPPERENT RESOLUTIONS . E8C«d0 

Sse(0U8BC(s0pl4 .66h8. 9v0B0b0T 
Ssc4a3Scl0RA Graphics iaage at 75 dpi 
Sscaa25Cwith a pattern behind it. 

Bsc*p50s410TRscec275a300blg3P 

Bsc*p75K455TEsc*t75R£sc*rlA(Data for portrait graphics inage) 

Bsc*rB 

8sc*pll3Sz470X8sc*ct37al50bS0g2P (nmtinues) 


Figure 4: The Escape codes used to create the portrait page sample. Relevant binary data belongs 
wherever the phrase [Data I is shown. Do not hit a carriage return before indented tines. 


default HP fonts are used for the most part 
for the text on the page. The bold feature 
and the underline command are used to 
create the titles. 

The first demonstration on the page 
downloads the graphics image from my 
previous article, at three different graphics 
resolutions. It also prints a different built- 
in pattern and gray scale behind each im- 
age. The push and pop commands are then 
demonstrated, though in a way that admit- 
tedly looks odd. 

The sentence is printed as far as the co- 
lon and then the cursor position is pushed 
onto the cursor position stack. After a CR- 
LF the sentence is completed and the next 
one started. When the space after the word 
“is” has been printed, the cursor position 
that was pushed onto the stack is popped 
off and the rest of the sentence is printed in 
bold type, at the point where the stack po- 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. 1988 
248 



Ah, the big idea. Everyone 
has one. But not everyone can 
afford a plotter to plot one on. 
Which got us thiriking. What if 
there was an HP quality plotter so 
reasonably priced you could afford 
to hook one up to every PC CAD 
workstation in the office? 

Presenting the HP DraftPro 
Plotter. For only $4900 any architect, 
engineer or designer can create 
perfect plots time after time. 
Consider what the DraftPro can do: 

It can draw straight lines, 
smooth arcs and perfectly-formed 
characters. All on C and D-size 
drafting film, paper or vellum, 
using eight dffferent pen colors. 

Furthermore, it works with 


just about any PC, such as the 
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If the idea of having HP 
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makes sense to you, call us now 
For a brochure and sample plot, 
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The drawing shown below was produced on the 
HP DraftPro with VersaCAD software. 

Wh^ HEWLETT 
W.cM PACKARD 

WrsaCADisa registered uademarkofT&W Systems AutoCAD is 
a registered uademark of AutoDesk. Inc 'Suggested U S list price 

CIRCLE 339 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


How to pull off a fantastic 
HP plot for only $4900. 



K l.JtSS 


PRODUCTIVITY 


■ PC LAB NOTES 


sition had been saved. 

The next test demonstrates the use of 
macros. The same graphics image is trans- 
mitted to the printer, but this time it is 
stored as a macro, so it can be used many 
times without having to retransmit the 
data. The three images on the left of the 
page are printed by calling or executing the 
macro. Since the cursor position is not pre- 
served when the macro is called or execut- 
ed, the images are not in a straight line as 
the command sequence might lead you to 
expect. The three right-hand images are 
produced in the same way, but in this case 
the cursor position is pushed directly be- 
fore each macro and popped directly after 
the macro is complete. 

The last test printed on the page shows a 
few letters from a downloaded font. The 
font is selected by its ID number in the 
sample page, but its full characteristics 
could have been specified with similar re- 
sults, as a word processor would. 

The file to print the page is composed of 
many small files. The font descriptor is 


■ The LaserJet printer is 
a magnificent machine 
that has recently become 
cheap enough in price for 
most people to consider. 


sent first, followed by the character de- 
scriptor and character data for each letter in 
the font. The font is then made permanent 
with an ID of 1 . The information for the 
page itself is the remainder. As with the 
font descriptor information, this contains 
binary information and should not be load- 
ed into a text editor. The file was generated 
by taking each of the individual files that 
had been tested and combining them into 
one file, called PORTPAGE, using the 
DOS COPY command with the plus sign 
key. The text information for PORTPAGE 
is shown in Figure 4. 

The landscape page is produced in a 
generally similar fashion to that for the 
portrait page, but the soft font information 


for portrait graphioa iaage] 

tM*rs 

BioAa7telfR(Laft) Oraphlea ioaga at ISf dpi witt 
BaodaYtCa SB% gray aoala bahiad it. (Right) 

BaoiaTSCOraphiea iaaigo at 3M dpi ifith !•% gray. 

Bao ( tUSac ( aBplBhl3TBaBb3T 

Bae*p21>0aSV0TBae*o(9a75blBg3R 

Bae*p22f0a4(0TBae*t3ffRSac*rlB(Oata for portrait graphica iaaga] 
Bao*rB 


BaoaaiSrgcBaeadPDBRNPLB OP cursor posztzoiixso comusm pusa and POP.Bac«d9 
BaeaaiBrfCTha firat earaor poaitioo ia paabadiBaeafM 

Bao4a2tr0Ctbaa tba earaor ia aovad. whoa tha oaraor iaBae4fl8Bae(a3Bp^pad, tba 
old earaor poaitioo ia raatorad.Bac(an 


Baeaa24r0CBaead0DBailPZ.B MACRO AMO BXBCUTBD . BacCdd 

Bae*a24riCStoriDg tha graphica iaaga aa a aaoro allowa it to ba priatad 
ropaatodlyBaeAatCVitboat raaoediag tba data. 

Baeafly0XBae*tiS0RBae*rtA(Data for portrait graphica iaaga] 

Bae*rBBae«fli 

BacAa2tr3eBae(0DBac(a0ptS.44hB.Sv0afb0TTha earaor poaitioo ia aet praaarvad 
after a aaero ia eallad or aaaeatad. 
Bae*plfff0ylS0XBaeafly2ZBae*p4300XBaeafly3noc*p4^3S0naeafty2z 

Bacaa2fr8SCDaa paah bafora a aaero aad pep after 

BoeaatSCto preaerve the earaor poaitioo. Bac(fUBac(afplShl2TfaSb3T 

Bae*pl40SylSffZBaeafMBaeafly2XRaeaflaBae*p+3SSBBaoaf08Baoafiy3ZBac«fl6 

Bae*p*'300ZBaoafiy2z 


BaciaiSrSCBacAdBDBANPLB PORTRAIT Wtm PORTBacAdg 

BaeCa47rlCA aeft feat eao ba dewaloadad to tha priater aad thaa aaadi 
BaeaaSar3SCSae(iZA»CMr 


(FigKtt4ttids) 


Bac*clDEae)a44H(64 bytaa of foot daaeripter data] 

Bac*c658Sae(a9B9W[988 bytaa of charaetar daaeripter data for A] 
Bac*cS€nBe(a988W[988 bytaa of charaetar daaeripter data for B] 
Eac*c67BBac(a988W[988 bytaa of oharactar daacriptor data for C] 
Bac*c68BBBc(a988W[988 bytaa of eharactar daacriptor data for D] 
Bac*c69BB8c(B988W[988 bytaa of charaetar daacriptor data for B] 
B8C*c7ffRBBe(8988M|988 bytaa of charaetar daacriptor data for P] 
Bac*cld5PSBCIillOBac&alrl8CEac(83BPC NAOAZIMB LASER PRINTER LAB NOTES, PART 2, 
SAMPLE LANDSCAPE PAGBBac(aBB 
Eac«p588x8yBBC*c28S8aSb8p5al28b8P 
B8C*pS88xl28yB80*c2888a5b8p 
Bse«p2568x8rB8C*cSal25b8P 


BaciaSrlCESCSdlDSAMPLE ORAPBICS ZHAGB.BacSdS 
Bac ( 8UE8C( aSplS . €6h8 . 5v8a8b8T 

BaciaSc7RCorrect landacape graphica iJMge with rotated data. 

sac*p4B8x45SyBae«t75RBac*rlA(Data for landacape graphica iMgajEac^rB 
Bae4al85c7R8aaa iaiaga if downloaded without rotating tha data. 

Bac*p2488x495yBac*t75REae*rlA{Data for portrait graphica ijnaga]E8e*rB 
Eac (SUBac ( afpl8hl2vf aSblT 

E8C«al7r8CEacAd8D«AKPLE MACRO CALLED AND EXECUTED. Bac4d9 

(contbms) 


Figure 5: The landscape sample pages’ Escape codes. Relevant binary data belongs wherever the 
phrase (Data] is shown. Do not hit a carriage return before indented lines. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9.1988 
250 


Time is of the essence. The 
essence of the HP DraftMaster Plotter. 
The fastest A to E size drafting plotter 
made by Hewlett-Packard. A plotter 
so fast, any designer can create big 
ideas at blinding speeds. 

How did we do it? With unsur- 
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like a new pen-sorting algorithm. 
Bi-directional plotting. And a very fast 
resident micro-processor. We even 
offer a model with roll-feed for non- 
stop plotting. 

But the HP DraftMaster doesn't 
sacrifice output quality for its blinding 
speed. Every plotter is thoroughly 
tested to ensure the highest reliability 
and precision. So you get smooth 
arcs, straight lines and perfectly- 
formed characters, time after time. 
Furthermore, it handles a variety of 


pens on drafting film, vellum or paper 
—all at optimal speeds. 

Naturally, it works with just about 
any computer. Like the HP Vectra PC 
and IBM PC's. As well as popular 
PC-CAD software like AutoCAD 
and VersaCAD. And the DraftMaster 
brings with it HP's worldwide reputa- 
tion for quality Prices start at just 
$9,900.* 

Why wait? For a brochure and a 
sample plot, call us at 1 800 367-4772, 
Ext. 901A. 

The drawing shown below was produced on the 
HP DraftMaster with AutoCAD software 

WK3% HEWLETT 
mL'KM PACKARD 

AutoCAD la a registered trademark of AuioDeek Inc VersaCAD is a 
registered uademark of Taw Systems 'Suggested U S list price 
® 1967 Hewlett Packard Co PE12703 

aRClE 342 ON READER SERVICE CARD 









How to create monumental plots 
in a matter of minutes. 





PRODUCTIVITY 


SINCE 1983. 

RACORE HAS PROVIDED... 

40,000 

PCjr's 

With PC*^ Power 



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Drive Two Plus with DMA 

^ 299.00 ^ 349.00 


Expand to 640K Give your PCjr 
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Memory Expansion Boards 
256K 51 2K 

$ 119.00 $ 149.00 


Keyboards Choose from three 
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PC Style $99 .00 
AT Style $11 9.00 
5151 Style $13 9. 00 


CALL TOLL FREE H 


1 - 800 - 325-1833 
1 - 800 - 521-6366 (in Calif.) 
BBS: (801)363-8720 


RACORE Computer Products kK. 

1 70 Knowles Drive, 

Los Gatos. Ca. 9S030 
(408)374-^290 


PnoM ubieci to Change wiViout nobe* 

RACORE. Orwe Two PIuam rog w lwod vadamarto d 
RACORE Consular Producta. Inc 

OM. PC. XT. AT. PQr are ragstarad vadamaAa of IBM Cofporaaan 


ORCLE 167 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


■ PC LAB NOTES 


BseSalSrlCStorlne tb« graphic* iaag* aa a naero allowa it to b« printed 
rapaatadly vithout raaanding th* data. 

B*c4f lySXS*carlA(Data tot landscape graphics imag*)Bsc*rBB*c*f IxlSx 


Ssc4a2trl5CBac(SUBsc(sepl6.66hB.5vfseb0T8etting the resolution outside the nacro 
allovs th* iMg* to be printed at different resolutions frost the sane macro. 
Bsc(0UBac(sBpiehl2v0a0b3T 

B*c«pll5ay6SfBEscat751USsc4fesly2xlSBsc*p+600XEsc*tlBBREsc4f0sly3X 

BsctflSBac«p4600XBac«tlS0RE8C4flsly2xlSEsc*p+600XEsc*t300REac&fly3X 

Bsc4f2y0XEsc*pl775y700XEsc*cl200al75b30g2PE8C«flX 

EseSfdX 

Esc4a41rlCA table outline can be overlaid on every subsequent page by the use of 
the overlay eosoBand. 

Tha shaded araa behind the soft font is an overlay. 

ESC«a30r0CEScSd0D8AMPLE PORTRAIT SOFT POttTESCAdd 

EscAa32rlCA soft font can be downloaded to the printer and than usedi 

Esc4a38r25CEBC(lXA B C D E P 
BSC410B 

Bac{38 

Bsc4alrl8CBse(s3BPC KAGAZXNE lASBR PRINTER LAB NOTES, PART 2, SAMPLE LANDSCAPE 
PAGEEac(*0B 

Bsc*pS00x0YBBc*c2060aSb0pSal20b0P 
Bsc*p500xl20TEac*c2060aSb0P 
Bac*p2S60x0YBse*c$al25b0P 
Bse4a52c5RPa9e 2. 

Bsc4a25r3CThe autoBAtic overlay feature will continue to print on every 
subsequent page until the macro iat 


1. Disabled or deleted. 

2* Page length, aise, or orientation is changed. 
3. Reset coaaaand is aaot. 


(Figia-eSends) 


that is downloaded creates a landscape 
font. The first test demonstrates the differ- 
ence between sending a graphics image 
with and without rotating the data. Even 
though the orientation of the page has been 
changed, the graphics image is not rotated 
automatically. The rotation must occur at 
the computer. 

The second sample test shows that the 
graphics image, without its resolution set- 
ting, can be stored in a macro. Then by set- 
ting the resolution and executing or calling 
the macro, ttie image can be scaled. T)ie 
sample soft font is selected and printed 
near the bottom of the page. 

The other macro stored on this page is 
the gray-scale rectangle printed behind the 
soft font text. This is called by using the 
overlay command, then this shape is auto- 
matic^ly overlaid on the subsequent page 
without any further commands, [for rea- 
sons of space, only one of the two land- 
scape sample pages contained in Ms. Hal- 
liday's code is printed here. The other, 


showing the effect of the overlay continu- 
ing onto the second page, will print out on 
your machine. — Ed . ) 

The file for printing LANDPAGE con- 
tains the font descriptor information and 
then the character Information before the 
data for the page itself. The file should be 
copied to the printer using the binary op- 
tion. The text portion of LANDPAGE is 
shown in Figure 5. 

The LaserJet printer is a magnificent 
machine that has recently become cheap 
enough in price for most people to consid- 
er. Its versatility and graphics outputs were 
simply not feasible a couple of years ago. 
So don't just use it for the output from a 
word processor; stretch its capabilities and 
produce more-exciting output for a satisfy- 
ing experience. (iS 


Caroline Holliday is an electrical engi- 
neering consultant with High Tech Aid and 
specializes in technical documentation 
and teaching for the PC environment. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
252 



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All product names are trademarks of their manufacturera Copyright 1967. 
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HOWT 

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This easy access to P 9 wer isn’t just for beginners, of course. With the EXPRESS 
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PRODUCTIVITY 

■ UTILITIES ■ DOUGLAS BOLING 


A PROGRAMMER’S 

POP-UP 

CALCULATOR 





Multiple base conversion, bit shifting, logical operators, and 32-bit number representation 
highlight an integer-arithmetic calculator that also handles two-place decimal numbers. 


A lmost invariably, the need to add a 
few numbers together arises min- 
utes after I’ve loaded an editor or 
word processor and its files. For various 
reasons — its size and the real and possible 
conflicts with other programs among 
them — I don’t use Borland’s SideKick. 
But there’s something absurd about keep- 
ing a $ 10 calculator on your desk because 
your $5,000 computer provides no simple 
way to add two numbers. 

CALC is my answer to the problem. It 
doesn’t put a pretty picture of a calculator 
on your screen, but in addition to provid- 
ing a two-place fixed-point decimal mode 
for financial computations, it gives pro- 
grammers like me functions not found in 
most calculator programs. 

CALC operates in hexadecimal, octal, 
binary, and decimal bases and will convert 
a number entered in one base into another 
at the touch of a key. Previous calculations 
can be carried over and operated on in a 
different base. CALC uses a full 32-bit 
representation for numbers, so memory 
addresses and other double-word calcula- 
tions can be computed accurately. The 
standard logical functions, and, or, xor, 
not, and negate, are also supported. 

Although CALC does not provide for a 
pemranent record (this would have made it 
just too big) , its screen display looks a litde 
like an adding machine tape. After an entry 
has been made or a result calculated, 
CALC scrolls the lines in the window to 
make room for the next entry. The window 
is large enough to display the last six en- 
tries, so you can keep your place when 
adding long columns of numbers. 


GETTING AND USING CALC Both the 
assembly language source code (CALC 
.ASM) and a BASIC program that will 
create CALC.COM when you run it 
(CALC. BAS) are printed here. A glance at 
their length, however, will probably con- 
vince you that downloading them — or an 
already-assembled, ready-to-run CALC 
.(X)M — from the PC Magazine Interac- 
tive Reader Service is a lot easier than key- 
boarding. See the sidebar “CALC by Mo- 
dem” for the details. 

CALC is a memory-resident pop-up 
and so must be installed in memory before 
you use it. Just enter 

CALC 

at the DOS command line, or, better, 
make CALC a line in your AUTOEXEC 
.BAT file. After installation, CALC re- 
mains quietly in memory using up only 
3,500 bytes. When you need CAIX, hit 
Alt-S. CALC window will appear on 


■ CALC operates in 
hexadecimal, octal, 
binary, and decimal and 
converts a number 
from one base to another 
at the touch of a key. 


your screen, NumLock will be turned on, 
and your last entry (if any) will be dis- 
play^. To return to the program you were 
using, just hit the Esc key. CALC will re- 
store the screen and the keyboard locks to 
their previous states. 

The first time that CALC pops up, it de- 
faults to the integer decimal mode. This 
mode allows signed integer arithmetic 
with maximum values of up to 
±2,147,483,647. The standard functions 
+ and / work as expected, so long as 
you remember that this is an integer mode, 
not floating point. (Dividing 4,096 by 10 
yields 409, not 409.6.) You can hit F2 to 
change the calculator to fixed decimal 
mode. In this mode, a decimal number can 
be entered with up to two decimal places, 
which is ideal for working with dollar val- 
ues. [Note, however, that numbers that 
would fall into a third decimal place are 
truncated rather than rounded. — Ed.] 

In integer mode CALC supports the 
mod function; i.e., it can provide the re- 
mainder of an integer division. When 25 is 
divided by 8, for example, the remainder is 
I , so 25 mod 8 equals I . To use the naod 
function, two keys are available. As in the 
C language, the percent sign, is the 
mod operator. To provide an unshifted al- 
ternative, the backslash “\” also performs 
the same function. 

Repeatedly pressing FI cycles the cal- 
culator through its four integer bases: deci- 
mal, hexadecimal, binary, and octal. As 
the base changes, the number on the bot- 
tom line of the display changes to the new 
base. FI provides a quick way to convert a 
number tom one base to another. Pressing 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
257 


PRODUCTIVITY 

■ UTILITIES 


the Enter key scrolls the current number up 
one line and repeats it on the entry line. 
Hitting FI at this point changes the base of 
the number on the entry line (without 
scrolling it) to the base signified by the let- 
ter (d, h, b, or o) in the far left margin. 

Function keys 3 through 6 provide the 
standard logical operations, and, or, xor, 
and not. For the first three, you use these 
functions as you would a math function. 
Enter the first number, press the desired 
function key, enter in the second number, 
press Enter, and the result is displayed. To 
use the not operator, simply enter the num- 
ber and press F6. If no number is currently 
on the entry line, the last result will be in- 
verted. 

Assembly language programmers will 
particularly appreciate CALC's built-in 
shift function. If you press F7, CALC will 
shift the number currently on the entry line 
one bit to the left. F8 shifts the number one 
bit to the right. By repeated u.se of FT or 
F8, numbers can be shifted any number of 
bits. CALC performs shifts arithmetically. 
Shifting arithmetically means that a num- 
ber shifted to the right will retain the value 
of the most significant bit. Numbers shift- 
ed to the left will have a zero inserted in the 
least significant bit. Thus, if a number is 
shifted to the right, the shift has the same 
result as dividing it by 2. If the number is 
shifted to the left, the shift has the same re- 
sult as multiplying the number by 2. 

F9 is the negate key for CALC, The 
number currently being entered is subtract- 
ed from zero and displayed. If there is no 
number currently being entered, the sign 
of the last result is changed. For decimal 
and fixed modes, F9 provides the same 
function as the Change Sign key on a regu- 
lar calculator. 

Pressing FIO clears the entry/result 
line, and Shift-FlO provides a clear display 
function. This allows you to completely 
reset CALC by clearing the display as well 
as any pending operations. 

HOW CALC WORKS The CALC 
.COM program can be divided into four 
major sections. First is the terminate-and- 
stay-resident (TSR) code. The second part 
is the keyboard input of the operators and 
numbers. The third is the actual 32-bit 
math involved in implementing the func- 
tions, and the last part comprises the code 


that displays the numbers. 

The TSR code is responsible for moni- 
toring the keyboard while dormant, for 
saving and restoring the screen, and for re- 
turning to the original program when the 
Esc key is pressed. As a number of col- 
umns have been written on the ins and outs 
of designing TSRs, I'll discuss only the 
highlights. 

When CALC is installed, the initializa- 
tion code does nothing but redirect the key- 
board interrupt vector and reserve memory 


■ Assembly language 
programmers will 
appreciate CALC’s built- 
in shift function. By 
repeated use of F7 or F8 , 
numbers can be shifted 
any number of bits. 

for the program. Because the configura- 
tions of Uxlay’s PCs are quite dynamic, lit- 
tle can be determined until a TSR is actual- 
ly invoked with its hotkey. After 
installation, CALC examines each key- 
press, and when it finds the proper hotkey 
combination (in this case All-S) CALC be- 
gins the process of popping up. 

The latest generation of video cards can 
produce wonderful displays, but they can 
be a real pain for the TSR programmer. 
Any TSR written today must attempt to be 
compatible with a wild array of diverse 
video configurations. CALC bends over 
backwards to provide full compatibility. 

CALC starts by reading the BIOS data 
area to determine the number of rows and 
columns currently displayed. It then deter- 
mines if an Enhanced Graphics Adapter 
(EGA) is currently active. It was once 
common practice simply to read the EGA 
BIOS for the "IBM” signature to deter- 
mine if an EGA was present. If the signa- 
ture was found, the EGA was in the sys- 
tem, This approach is not good for two 
reasons. First, the mere presence of an 


EGA card in the system does not mean that 
it is the currently active video display. Sec- 
ond, while the new Personal System/2 ma- 
chines provide EGA compatibility, be- 
cause the video BIOS is incorporate into 
the system BIOS, the “IBM” signature is 
not where expected. 

The currently accepted way to check 
for an EGA-type display is to call interrupt 
lOh function I2hwith BLsetto lOh. IfBL 
returns unchanged, there is not an active 
EGA present. If there is no EGA, CALC 
checks the CRT controller register at ad- 
dress 40:63. If bit 6 is set, then there is a 
monochrome adapter. Otherwise, CALC 
assumes a color graphics adapter is pre- 
sent. CALC modifies its windowing pa- 
rameters to adjust to any nonstandard com- 
bination. All of these checks are done 
when CALC is called rather than during 
installation in order to accommodate a 
dual-screen PC configuration. 

After the complete video configuration 
has been analyzed, the characters on the 
screen where the window will be drawn 
are saved. The current state of the key- 
board is saved and NumLock is turned on. 
The CALC window is then drawn. CALC 
hides the cursor by moving it to one row 
below the last tow of the active screen. 
This routine bypasses the bugs in the EGA 
BIOS. When the Esc key is pressed, the 
original state of the keyboard is restored, 
the screen is redrawn, the cursor is re- 
turned to its original location, and control 
is returned to the original program. 

KEYSTROKE MONITORING Once 
initialized, CALC waits for a key to be 
pres.sed. Instead of simply calling interrupt 
I6h function 1 (the BIOS keyboard ser- 
vice), CALC first checks to see if a key- 
stroke is in the buffer. If no keystroke is 
present, CALC calls DOS interrupt 28h 
function 0, the DOS idle loop. By calling 
the idle function, CALC allows another 
function to assume control of the system. 

If a keystroke is in the buffer, CALC then 
gets the keystroke and processes it. 

After getting the keystroke, CALC 
checks to see if the key is the Esc key. If 
so, the program terminates. If not, CALC 
checks to see if the key is any of the valid 
nonnumeric keys. If so. CALC processes 
that function; if not. CALC checks to see if 
the key is a valid numeric key. A valid nu- 1 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
258 


PRODUCTIVITY 


meric key is one lhal is less lhan the current 
base. (A 9 is not a valid key in octal mode, 
for example.) If the key is not a valid key, 
it is discarded. If the key is a valid numeric 
key, it is accepted and entered into the 
“entry register." 

CALC keeps track of numbers using 
two 32-bit variables, one called the entry 
register and the other called the result reg- 
ister. As you might expect, the entry regis- 
ter stores numbers currently being entered 
while the result register stores the result of 
the previous operation. When a digit en- 
tered is within the range of the base, the en- 
try register is multiplied by the base to 
make room for the new digit. The new dig- 
it is eonverted from ASCII to binary and 
added to the enter register, which is then 
displayed. For example, if the octal num- 
ber 234 is in the entry register and the key 5 
is pressed, the original number (in binary) 
would be multiplied by 8, giving 2340 (oc- 
tal). The digit 5 is then added to 2340, to 
give 2345. Numbers are always stored as 
binary numbers regardless of the base be- 
ing used. 

32-BIT MATH Performing 32-bit math 
with a 1 6-bit proce.ssor is not so formidable 
a task as you might think. Addition and 
subtraction ate simple, thanks to the add 
with carry (ADC) and subtract with bor- 
row (SBB) opcodes. Multiplication and di- 
vision ate slightly mote difficult, but not 
exceedingly so. 

To add or subtract numbers larger than 
the register size of the microprocessor in- 
volves keeping track of the carry bit. To 
add two numbers. CALC loads the low 
word of the result register into AX. The 
low word of the entry register is then add- 
ed, using the ADD opcode. If the result is 
too large to fit into a 16-bil word, the carry 
bit is set. The high word of the result regis- 
ter is loaded into DX. and the high word of 
the entry register is added using the add 
with carry opcode. The add with carry op- 
code, ADC. adds the two numbers, then 
adds 1 to the result if the carry bit is set. 
This method allows any carry from the low 
word addition to be propagated to the high 
word. Subtraction is handled in the same 
manner, using the subtract, SUB, and sub- 
Uact with borrow, SBB, opcodes. Over- 
flows are detected by the microprocessor 
and are indicated by turning on the over- 


CUSTOMIZING CALC 


A pplication programs and TSRs lay 
claim to many key combinations on 
the average PC. If your word prtx;essor 
happens to need the All-S that CALC 
uses as its default hotkey . the instructions 
here will show you how to change it. In 
addition, you can change the program's 
default colors. 

Obviously, to make such changes you 
need a copy of CALC.COM in your cur- 
rent directory. Make sure, tix), that DE- 
BUG is either in your current directory or 
in a directory included in your PATH 
command. And remember the most im- 
portant mie of debugging: always work 
with a copy, never with the original . That 
way. if anything goes wrong, you can 
start over. 

To change the default hotkey combi- 
nation. first decide what you want the 
new activation key to be. You can choose 
a single key. like the letter A, plus any 
one or more of the shift keys (Shift. Ctrl, 
Alt). The scan code for A. as shown in 
the table "Keyboard Sean Codes for Al- 
ternative Hotkeys,” is IE. The shift 
mask for the Ctrl key. as listed in the 
"SHIFT-MASK Value Table," is 4. So, 
to change CALC's hotkey to Ctrl-A. type 
in the following set of DEBUG instruc- 
tions: 

DEBUG CALC.COM 

E 157 •'Ctl-A** ;The new letter 

E 26B IE ;Scan code 

E 275 4 ;Shift mask 

w 
Q 

IfCALC's initial colors used aren't to 
your liking, you can change them, too. 
Three .separate color combinations are 
used lor the border, the text, and the 
headcr/iiKnu. The color codes arc en- 
tered as two-digit hex numbers in which 
the first digit is the background and the 
second digit is the foreground color. The 
choices CALC oilers for a monochrome 
screen are limited to nonnal and reverse 
video. (The two other theoretical possi- 
bilities, underline and nondisplay, don't 
make much sense in this application.) 
The choices for a color screen arc shown 


Keyboard Scan Codes 
for Alternative Hotkeys 

Sean 

code 

Ksy in hex Key 

Scan 
code 
in hex 


Esc 

01 


Z 

2C 


!1 

02 


X 

2D 


(a 2 

03 


c 

2E 


#3 

04 


V 

2F 


$4 

05 


B 

30 


%5 

06 


N 

31 


'6 

07 


M 

32 


&7 

08 


<, 

33 


•0 

09 


>. 

34 


(9 

OA 


?/ 

35 


)0 

OB 


Right Shift 

36 



OC 


PrtSc* 

37 


+ ® 

OD 


Alt 

38 


Backspace 

OE 


Spacebar 

39 


Tab 

OF 


CapsLock 

3A 


0 

10 


FI 

36 


W 

11 


F2 

3C 


E 

12 


F3 

3D 


R 

13 


F4 

3E 


T 

14 


F5 

3F 


Y 

15 


F6 

40 


U 

16 


F7 

41 


1 

17 


F8 

42 


0 

18 


F9 

43 


P 

19 


F10 

44 


II 

1A 


NumLock 

45 


11 

IB 


Scroll Lock 

46 


Enter 

1C 


7 Home 

47 


Ctrl 

ID 


0 Up Arrow 

48 


A 

IE 


9 PgUp 

49 


S 

IF 


- 

4A 


0 

20 


4 Left Arrow 

4B 


F 

21 


5 

4C 


G 

22 


6 Right Arrow 

4D 


H 

23 


+ 

4E 


J 

24 


t End 

4F 


K 

25 


2 Down Arrow 

50 


L 

26 


3 PgDn 

51 



27 


OIns 

52 


“■ 

28 


Del 

53 



29 


SysReg 

54 


Left Shift 

2A 


F11 

57 


1\ 

2B 


F12 

58 






(rimtinufsl 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
259 


■ UTILITIES 


PRODUCTIVITY 


tCustomizingCALC" amiinuedf 

in the “Color Combinations" table 
shown on the right. Values above 7 
should be used only for the foreground: 
they will cause the display to blink if used 
for the background. Choose your colors, 
then substitute them for the colors shown 
in the following examples. 

To change the monochrome colors: 


DEBUG 

CALC 

COM 


E 1C8 

70 

; Border 

color 

E 1C9 

07 

;Text color 

E ICA 

07 

; Header 

color 

w 




Q 




SHIFT-MASK Value l^Ie 



Shin toy 






SHIFT-MASK 

Left 

Right 

VaiMt 

Alt 

Ctrl Shift 

Shift 

0 

1 • 

2 


• 


3 


• 

• 

4 


• 


5 


• 

• 

6 


• • 


7 


• • 

• 

8 

• 



9 

• 


• 

A 

• 

• 


B 

• 

• 

• 

C 

• 

• 


D 

• 

• 

• 

E 

• 

• • 


F 

• 

• • 

• 



Color Combinations 

Value 

Color 

0 

Black 

1 

Blue 

2 

Green 

3 

Cyan 

4 

Red 

5 

Magenta 

6 

Brown 

7 

White 

8 

Gray 

9 

Light Blue 

A 

Light Cyan 

B 

Light Red 

c 

Light Magenta 

D 

Yellow 

E 

Bright White 

Select the colors tor display and use the 
hex value to construct the attrlbuto. Bright 
White on Red, tar example, would have 
the value E4. 


To change the color display: 
DEBUG CALC.COM 


E ICD 

0F 

; Border color 

E ICE 

IF 

;Text color 

E ICF 

lE 

; Header color 

w 



Q 



— Robert L. Hummel 


Robert L. Hummel is senior technical 
editor of PC Magazine. 


flow bit in the flags register. 

Multiplication is not that hard to han- 
dle. As with any big job. the way to handle 
a 32-bit multiply is to divide the job into 
small parts. In a microprtxre.ssor. 16- by 
16-bit multiplication prtxluces a 32-bit re- 
sult. Using this logic, 32- by 32-bit multi- 
plication pitxiuces a 64-bit result. To make 
room for a 64-bit result, the multiply must 
be divided up into four parts. The four 
parts are created by dividing the two 32-bit 
word into four 16-bit words. Using the ex- 
ample shown in the diagram “Multiplying 


Two 32-bit Numbers," the hex number 
12345678 is multiplied by 9ABCDEFD. 
The number 12345768 is divided into a 
high and low word producing 1 234 in the 
high word and 5678 in the low word. In the 
same manner the second number is divided 
into 9ABC and DEFO. The multiplication 
is then done as four 1 6-bit-size multiplica- 
tions. The two high words are multiplied, 
then the low and the high, the high and the 
low, and finally the two low words. The 
words are then added up. The trick here is 
to retain the place of each of the words. 


The products of the word multiplications 
are then added to produce the final result. 
The easiest way to understand this process 
is to write it out as in the diagram. 

If this looks like math from grade 
school, it should. The only trick to the 
multiplication is to keep track of how the 
partial products are added. The 8088 helps 
us here by placing the low word of the 


■ The 8088 only 
allows the division of 
a 32-bit number by a 
16-bit divisor. 


product in AX and the high word in DX. 
By using the other registers in the proces- 
sor to hold each one of the columns, you 
can collect a tunning sum of each column 
as you perform the multiplication. In 
CALC, the highest column and the second 
column are summed in CX, the third col- 
umn is summed in BX. and the lowest col- 
umn is in AX. Having AX hold the lowest 
column is possible since CALC performs 
the low-word-by-low-word multiplication 
last. As the partial products are added to 
the registers, the carries of the additions 
must be propagated to the next register. 

Although 32-bit multiplication pro- 
duces a 64-bit result, CALC has room in- 
ternally for only 32 bits. To solve this, 
CALC accepts only results that will fit into 
32 bits. To detect overflow, a result larger 
than 32 bits. CALC checks to see that the 
upper 32 bits of the product are zero. If ei- 
ther of the upper two words of the product 
are not zero, CALC throws out the result 
and indicates an error. 

The division of two 32-bit numbers is 
slightly more complex. Although the 8088 
provides a divide opcode, it only allows 
the division of a 32-bit number by a 16-bit 
divisor. To get around this limitation, 
CALC checks to see if the number in the 
entry register is larger than 16 bits. If so. 
both the registers arc shifted to the right un- 
til the number in the entry register is small 
enough to fit into the low word. Since both 
the numbers are being reduced by consec- 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
260 


PRODUCTIVITY 


iC4Xe for tha IBN Paraanal Ceaiputar • 19tT by Oauglaa Boling 
blo*_d«ta lagnont at 49h iBtoa data araa 

org 17h 

bioa_lcbd_atat db ? jkaybeard atatua byta 

erg 4ah 

biea ert col <tv 7 ;nuMbar of coluona on tha acraan 

org 4}h 

addr_444S dv 7 ;4I4S Indax Raglatar addraaa 


aagnant para public '< 

aaauB* caicodo 

org Iflh 

j«p initlaliza 

db *cJkLc 1.1 (Cl lyaa 

db *PC Kagai.na *,2S4, 

db *Boc ray ■.» Alt-t*, 


pop ax 
quick out! popf 

~ jap eatold__int_<h 

; Start of 'raal' coda, claan up iatarrupt atata aad cback vidao i 


adaptar 

Bua_vid_«ol 

BUB_vid_rowa 

v^paga 
boedar attr 
taxt_attr 
haadac_attr 

w 1 ndow_co 1 u an 
eolum ad] 
activa" 
old^euraor_poa 
ay cursor poa 
I 

baaa_f lag 
ponding op 
fixad flag 
dociBal_flag 
antry^raa 


aign 

baaa_ptr ■ 
nuabar labal 
op_tabIa t 
i 

old kbd atatua 
old“iot“»h 

eld keyboard int 
acraan buffer 


ijuap to initialixation coda 
siff ceaaunioatlens co. ■,13,11 
* Douglas Boling*. 13, If 
13,ia,*S*,la!) 

)f • CCA, 1 • NDA, 2 ■ ECA 
;nuabar of coluauts on acraan 
jnuadMr of columns on tha acraan 
} vidao sagsiant address 
scurrant video page 
{window border attribute 
{Window text attribute 
{Window header attribute 
{row of left corner of window 
leol'icu of left corner of window 
{seraan adjust for indax ragiatara 
{Status of interrupt routine 
{row and coluaus of acraan cursor 
{Cursor position 

{numeric base 

{pending operation <3d • nop) 
{indicates fixad SMth mode 
ifla] for dacisul point entry 
;antry rag nonempty flag 


db • 

db *Hax Binary Octal Daeisul Pixad 
db *hbed* 

db * and or xor err* 


db r 

labal dword 
dw 3 dup {7) 
dw offset initialize 


{Old iatarrupt vector 


dw tbftfh {aagmant 

db 7fh {bordar 

db f7h {text 

db f7h {header 

dw fbiffh laagmant 

db ffh {border 

db Ifb {text 

db lab ibaadar 

db 3cb,2ah.3Dh,39h {Values to enable ccA < 

db 2Ah,2Bh,lth 

db 'Calculator Baaei Sac ■ Quit* 

db *fl base n and fS xor f7 sal f* */•* 

db *22 fixed f4 or f4 not ft ear fit elr* 


iPront-and routine for tba keyboard Interrupt handler. Execution ia voctorad 
{bora wbenevar an interrupt f it generated by the FC keyboard. 


>inothing,aainotbing 

{Calc currently active? 

{yea. Exit. 

jno, start initialliatlon, first 
1 anabla Intarrupta and aava 
j ragiatara. 


I aaibiot data 

ax.aaibTos ert_eol 
nun vld eeT,aa 
al,aaibTea_crt row 
num_vid_rawo , aT 
al , aa ! bloB_kbd_atat 
old kbd Btatualal 
oBsBioB~kbd atat,2fh 
ab.l2h “ 
bl.lfh 
lib 

bl.lfh 

mainllf 

nuB vld rows, 24 

ax.aataSdc 4f4S 
al.4th 

mainllf 


iTtta hot kay combination has bean 
{ praaaad, spring into action by 
t raaattlng tba kayboard 
I interrupt, and setting tha 
{ data aagmant registar. 

{Bat as for bios aagmant. Than 
; grab significant data. 

{Save tTia number of columns 

{aava the number of rows 
{sava tba atata of tha keyboard 

{ast nuB-lock on 
{Cheek for EOA by tasting video 
{ function 12h. If bl returns 
{ unchanged, than EGA ia not 
{ present . 


I bit ia 1 than Ita a MDA 


{«at current vidao mode. 

{ia currant vidao mode 1-37 
{yoa, titan branch 
{is currant video mode 77 
;yaa. than branch, aiaa, exit. 

{ Matora tba atata of tha kayboard 

{gat old kay atatua 

{iaolata numloek 

{waa numloek on or eff7 

;lt was on - no change needed 


al,old_kbd_atatua {gat old kay atatua 

al, 2 fh {iaolata numloek 

al,f {waa numloek on or eff7 

dona 1 ;lt waa on - no change needed 

bx,bTos__data 

da,bx 

I daibloa data 

daibioa kbd_Btat,not 2th {writs to kayboard flags byta 

bp 

as (Exit with an Interrupt return. 


> catcoda, dsieoda. aaicoda 
di, offset mono^vsluaa {eat monochroaM attrik 
abort main3 

dl, offset color valuas {Bat color attributes 
AX.IdiJ 


ax,2ldi] 
border attr.al 
text attr, ah 
al,4Tdl) 
haadar_attr,al 
ax , num_^v id_co 1 


column adj,ax 
V paga.bh 
ah, 3 
Ifh 

eld_cur aer_pea , dx 


:s#t video aa^nnt and attributes 


{Compute tha column adjustment 
{ value from tha number of 
( celumna on the aerean. If tba 
I number of columns in tba 
; aeraan la < ff, don't pop up. 

lEava vidao page. 

(Cat cursor position, save it, 

{ than position tbs euraor to 
t ooa row balow tha aerean so 
{ that it will be hlddsn. 


{gat acan coda from keyboard 
{Cheek for *a’ iMy 
{HO, tfian exit. 

{Cheek shift kaya 


{Exit, first restore ragiatara, 
t than jump using tba eld 
( interrupt vector that waa 


call diaplay_reg 


{Indicate calc ia active. 

I save tba aeraan whara tba 

{ window will ba. Than, pop up 
{ tba window. 

iDiaplay tha eontants of tha 
{ of tha entry register if 
{ Boomthing la in it, alaa 
) display tba raault register. 


CALC.ASM: The assemhiy I(ii}fit4afie source code for CALC .COM . 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
261 


PRODUCTIVITY 

■ UTILITIES 


iTIm window la now 

dlaplayad ea tba acraaa. 

Walt for a kaypraaa. 


rat 



Min4< 

wow 

da.av euraor poa 

toat tba poaitloo of wy 'curaor* . 

kay_proe 

andp 




wow 

al,-<- 

; tban write it to tba acraan. 






•ov 

ab,baadar attr 


J proeaaa baaa changaa - Change tha value in tba baaa flag, than diaplay rag. 


eall 

output char 







call 

diaplay baaa 

lindieata dee. bax, oet, bln, fix 

baaa chang 




m1o41i 

wow 

ah,» 

jgat a kaypraaa by firat axacutlng 



ah, 44 

jaaa if changing to fixed 


lot 

2 lb 

1 a doa idle loop, to lat other 



baaa fixed 



maw 

ah,l 

1 prograaa hawa a ebanea, than 



fixed flag.l 

jif in fixed aoda, only change 


lat 

14b 

1 cbaeking for a kay before 



baaa fixed 

J to daciBal 


}« 

BalD4l 

t actually getting tba kay. It 



ax, baaa flag 

joat the baaa flag, add 4 and 



ab,4 

1 no kay, idle again. 


add 

al,4 

J roBova tba 3rd bit, what you 


Int 

14b 




al,4bh 

J have ia tba new baaa except for 

■alnSt 


al . 21 

:UC kay proaaadl 




J 14 witch can be added to tba 


1* 

and it 

>yaa, clean up and exit 


add 

al,14 

J aero raault for hex. 



al.Tt 

lie it a backapaca 

baaa el i 

aov 

baaa flae.ax 




■ain4 




abort baaa and 



eall 

back apaca 

;yaa, proeaaa backapaca 

baaa fixedi 

■ov 

baaa flag, 14 

jHake aura baaa - 14 then 



abort B«ln4 




fixed flag, 4 

J if already in fixed, nake 

»ain4t 


ah, 93 

lie it ahlft fid 1 



baaa fixadl 

J integer by dividing by 144. 


ja 

■alnl 

jyaa, juap to clear routine. 



flxaS flag, 4 

J If in integer dacival, naka 


eav 

ab. 99 

lie it fl t 


MOV 

daeinval flag, 4 

J roes for tha fraction by 


)a 

aaln9 

jyaa, change baaa 


aov 

eh, 41 

■ultiplying by 144. 



ab.44 

lie it f2 t 


wov 

dl.offaat raault 

rag high 


j* 

atainf 

jyaa, change baaa 


call 

fixed adjuat 




ab,44 

jla it batwaan f4 and fll t 


■ov 

di,of?iat entry 

'eg high 


51 

■alnS 

j If no, call unary operator 


call 

fixed adjuat 




ab,f« 

1 routlna 


jwp 

abort baaa and 




■ainS 


baaa fijwdli 

inc 

fixed flag 

jaat fixed flag 

MlB7t 

eall 

aB_pree 



aor 

cx,cx 




abort MiDt 



mow 


rag high 

Mln8< 

eall 

kay_proe 



call 

fixed adjuat 




abort m1o4 




di,ef7aat entry 

eg high 

Mln9i 

call 

baaa chanq 

|fl or f2, change baaa 


eall 





abort aalat 

jgeto and 

baaa end: 


bl,4 

jdiaplay raault ragiater unlaaa 


key baa baan praaaad, olaan up and axit. 


ewp 

entry_prea.4 

J there ia a nuaibar in tha 

•nd Iti 


di( acraaa buffer 

jpoint PI to bolding buffer 


j* 

baae endl 

entry rogiatar. 



al.l 



inc 

bl 

jehanga ragiator flag for the 


call 


traatora yidao amaory contenta 

baaa andl : 

eall 

dianlav rac 

J diaplay routlna. 


■DV 

fitrmnr pna 

(Raatora the curaor to tba 


rat 




WOW 

hK 1 w p*p* 

1 poaitioo it waa before calc 

bate Chang 

andp 




VIV 

ah, 2 

} waa called. 






int 

19h 


J aulitply and divide ragiatara by 144 



aetiya,* 

jraaat atatua flag 

J entry: eh • 

1, divide, cb - 4, aultiply. 



dona 

laxit 

J 








fixed adjuat 



jNoving froM fixed to daci»al 






puah 

bx 

1 and back again needa an aaay 


kaya - Proeaaa a all kaya but aac 

fl. f2, and f4 - fl4 


■ov 

bx,144 

J way to miltiply and divide by 

. 






■ul div ahrt 

J 144. 

k «7 proe 

proc 

near 



pop 

bx 




al.f 

jaaa if extended kay 


rat 





kayl 


fixed adjuat 

andp 





ah.41 

jif extended, allow only 







kay and 

1 kaya f3 - fll 

J auilitply and divide ragiatara by bx 




ab.44 


J entry: ch • 

1, divide, cb • 4, Multiply. 





J. 






abort kay opar 


Rul div ehrt 

proc 

near 

jHoving frea fixed to daciOMl 

lioy4s 


al.34h 

jia it lower than 1 


XK>V 

ct.aign 




kayl 

lyaa, check for other functiona 



ex 



wow 

ba.baaa flag 

igat baaa 




and back again needa an eaay 



bl.ldb 

jaaa if in box 




J way to Bultiply and divide by 


ja 

kayl 

jif ao goto box a»de cbaeking 


e«P 

baae flag, 14 

144. The aiath routinaa alao 



bl,3db 

jeonvart to aacii 



adjl 

1 need thia routine to correct 



al.bl 

jia nu^ar leaa than tha baaal 


CWP 

word ptr [di ] ,4 

J tba dacixMl point on aniltiplya 


51 

kay nua 

jyaa, goto ouater procaaeing 


59* 

adjj 

and dividaa. 


5iV 

abort kay 2 

jno, check for other charactara 


eall 

negate rag 


iCbock for 

a-f If In ban aoda 



inc 

aign 

jIf tha ragiater we are converting 

kayli 

cap 

al.39h 

jaaa If nuaibar laae than 14 

adjji 

■ov 

aB.(di) 

la nagitiva, change ita aign 


51a 

kay_nuai 





1 by negating it. 



bl.al 

jeopy aacii character 



oh, 4 

jFor divide, gat tha high word. 



bl.4dfh 

joMka lower and upper caaa aaaw 



adjt 

J convert It to a double word. 



bl,41h 

jia it lower than a 7 



dx.dx 

J perfora the firat divide. Sava 


51 

kay2 

jyaa. aao if other eharaetar 


div 

bx 

J tha raault, and use tba 



bl.44h 

jno, la it greater than an f 7 




J reoiaindar aa the upper word 



kayl 

jyaa, check for other charactara 



ax.3(di) 


kay_nu*. 

eall 

nuapar kay 

jno, it auat be a nuoibar 


div 

bx 

J of tha lower word divide. 



abort Eay and 

jgat another kaypraaa 



abort adjS 


ichaek for 

aMth funetlona 


adj4 1 

■ul 

bx 

jrer aultiply, aultiply tha high 

kay 2 t 


al,2ah 

jif aaeli eoda batwaan 2 a and 




J word, than tha low, and add tha 


51 

kay3 

l3f than ita a or ! 



ax, 2 [dl] 

J upper 14 bite of the aacond 



al.lfh 



■ul 

bx 

J product to tha firat product. 



kay3 



add 

(di],dx 



emp 

al,',' 

jaaa it ita a ce»a that 

adjS: 


2(di].BX 

jAt tha end recall if the ragiater 


5* 


j allppad through, if ao rat. 




J aa nagitiva on entry. If so. 



al,'.' 

jia it a daciaal point! 



adj4 

I negate tha raault to return 



key opar 



call 

necate reo 

J tha ragiatar to its orginal 



daelaul flag.l 

jaat flag 

adji; 

pop 


I aign. 



abort kay and 



■ov 



kayJi 

cap 

al,'%' 

jaaa If other wod operator 


rat 




5a 



*ul div ahrt 

andp 




cap 

al,T3 

J aea if enter waa praaaad 






5a 

kay4 

jyaa, proeaaa enter 

J proeaaa unary operationa. 




al,'-' 

jaaa if - waa praaaad 

J-— 





5Ba 

kayS 

jae, chock for other kaya 

un_pree 




kay4> 


al.'-' 

jyaa, clear enter cede 


cap 

entry proa. 4 

jaat up di to point to the 


eall 


jec^lata lent aath operation 


]• 


J proper ragiatar. 



bl,l 

jdiaplay racult ragiator 



di.offaet entry 

eg high 


eall 

diaplay rag 

jcall diaplay ragiatar 


5*P 

abort un2 




abort kay and 

jgat a kaypraaa 

uni 1 

BOV 

di.offaet raault 

reg high 

kaySi 

cap 

al.'\' 

jaaa if wod operation 

un3i 

cap 

ah. 64 

jis it f4 7 


jaa 







kay_opac. 

eall 

epar_proc 

jeall tha aath preeadura 












fCA/X'.ASM 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 19S8 
262 





. JOOK' 1-"'’“'^ 
^ not N'^'"’‘ 

TcWrlhan 

.S«>'«"’'‘"' 

Qoai»^> 








«»/ 








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PRODUCTIVITY 


■ UTILITIES 



jna 

un3 

;no, cheek for other keys 

iSntrys al 


value of characbor to 

bv displayed 


not 

word ptr [dl) 

snot register 






not 

word ptr 2 tdi) 


write at cur 


near 



jap 

abort un and 



push 

ax 


unJi 

cap 

ah,4S 

:1s it f7. left shift 7 


push 

dx 



Jna 




SIOV 

dx.BV cursor ix.s 

;got cursor position 


■ow 

bl,l 



BOV 

ah, text attr 

{uss proper diaplsy attribute 



abort un31 



call 

output char 

{else, display chsiacter 

un4: 


ah,«« 

SIS it f*, right shift 7 


inc 

dl 

{Bove cursor over 


Jna 

un5 



BOV 

Bv cursor cos.dx 

{Store new cursor position 





wad 1 


dx 


un31 ! 

call 

shift ra 9 




ax 



J*P 

abort un and 






unS: 

cap 

ah , <8 

sis it fl* 7 

write at cut 

anHp 




J1 

unfi 

;no, check for other keys 

{— 






dx,ds 


tooer oroc - 

procei 

ses all operators tor t 




dl, offset entry 

rag high 

j entry t ax 


usisric keystroke 




JdiJ.dK 

sclear both registers 







3(di ),ds 


oper proc 






4|dxj,da 





:aave ths key 


a»v 

<|dt ) ,dx 



cap 

entry_pres,* 

{is thers a nuBber in the ent reg> 


cap 


jdo we clear the screen! 


jne 


{yes, perforsi operation 


jna 

un and 




pending op, ax 

{no, ssvs operation and exit 




syes, do so by scrolling the 





ubSIi 

call 

scroll window 

; window up 7 lines. 


Jap 

short operand 



loop 

unit 


operl t 

xchg 

oendinc oo. sx 

{get pending op and save new op 


j"P 

abort un and 



call 

aath proc 

{process aath function 



ah, 67 

sis it f9 7 



dx 



JM 


sno, cheek for other keys 



cx,* 



call 

naasta rao 

; negate the result register. 


J« 

oper4 




bl, entry praa 




dx.cx 



call 

display rag 




dl,* 

{see if extended code 


rat 




3* 

operlog 



andp 





si, * ■ 

{print space to separate operator 






call 

write at cur 


jprocast nu»b«ra - 

insert digits froa the keyboard into the entry register. 


W9V 

ax,dx 

{get pending operation 






call 

write at cur 

{display operator 

nufibar kav 





call 

scroll window 



cap 

sl,39h 

;sea if a nuaiber not a • f 

operendli 

xor 

bx,bx 

{Clear bx 


jl« 

nual 

syes, skip letter conversion 


BOV 

entry reg high,bx 

{dear entry register 


add 

al,> 

sconvert letters to hex values 





nuBl I 

and 

as,St»fh 

sstrip off ascii code 


BOV 

deciBal flsg.bl 



push 

ax 

ssave digit 


W 

entry pres.bl 



BOV 

sign, ah 

:ah • *, clear sign flag 

i%P*p** , p . 

rat 




■ov 

di.offsot entry 

rag high 


BOV 

ex.dx 



Cflip 

base flag , 18 



ailK 

eh , 61 

{Convert keycode into offset 



nual* 



aal 




cap 

word ptr |dl|,8 



sal 

eh.l 



J9a 

nual* 

: negitiva, if so, negate it. 


BOV 

bx.offaat op table 




negate rag 



add 

bl.eh 

{point to correct label 



sign 



s>ov 

ex. 4 

{display a space end 3 characters 

nu»ll! 

pop 

ax 

sget the digit back 

operlogl i 

BOV 


{gat a character to display 


sor 

dx,dx 



call 




cap 

fixed flag,* 

:See if in fixed aode. 


ine 




J« 

nua2 



loop 

oper logl 




cl.daciaal flag 







cap 

Cl. 2 

slf were in the fix point swde. 

ooer oroc 

andp 




Ja 


S siultiply all digits by 1** 






j9 

nue2* 

: until the deciaal flag has 

{aath_proc - 

pr'teessea all SMth for the prograa 



bx, 1* 

; bean set. Then accept two 

{tntry: al 


value of the operation 

or * for result reg ■ entry reg 



bx 

; fraction digits shifting only 






cap 

cl.l 

: the tenths digit. 

aath_proc 

proc 

near 





] entered. 


SIOV 

bx.ax 

{Copy key press 



bx 




dx.antrv rea hioh 

{get result register 

Buall s 

cap 





ax. entry rag low 

{ 


J4 

nua2 




dl, offset result reg high 



daciMl flag 



{Mr 


{dear error flag 



bx,3[diT 




bx,* 



jap 

short nun4 



3« 

Bath*2 


nua2t 






bl,* 




ax.ldi) 

jget upper 16 bits 


jne 

Bath*l 



cap 

base flag, 1 * 




short logic start 



Ja 

nuB31* 


aathsi : 


bl,*** 

{See if addition 


aul 

base flag 



J« 

aathl 




abort nuB211 




bl,*-* 

isee if subtraction 

nua21l : 

iaul 

base flag 

jiiake roea for the naw digit 



tMth2 


nua 211 1 

Jc 

nuB 21 



esip 

bl,*— 

:see if aultiplleation 



(dll, ax 

{return high word 



SMthSld 



BOV 

ax,2[di| 

:get lew 16 bits 



bl.*/* 

{See if division 


aul 

base flag 

{repeat shift to stake roost 


j* 

aathsid 


nua4i 

add 


{add in new digit 


cap 

bl.'t* 



adc 

dx,* 







add 

[dii.dx 

ladd overflow to the high 16 bits 



bl.-\- 

{Sea if nod operation 

nu*42! 

BOV 

ajdlj.ax 

{Store lower 16 bits 





} if a naw 

nuabar. 

eerell window before displaying 

Bath* 2 s 

aov 

|di),dx 

{If operator net recognised. 


cap 

sign, * 

{before displaying, see if the 



J|dil,ax 

{ copy entry register to 


j» 

Dua2* 

1 register was orginally negltive 


jBp 

short Bathand 



call 

naoata rao 

{ if so, negate it. 

aathli 

add 

2:dii,ax 

{add 



entry pres,* 

{Check for a nusiber in the entry 


adc 

(di|,dx 



Jna 


{ register or a pending operation 


J® 

natharr 




bx.oandino on 


aathll I 


short siathend 




bl,*-- 


stach2: 

sub 

2(di 1 ,sx 

{Subtract 


jna 




abb 

[dij.dx 



call 

scroll window 



Jo 

Bsthexr 

{ Jusip to error if underflow 



bl,l 

{display entry register 


j«P 

short SMthand 



call 

display rag 


aathsidi 

call 

aull div 



Inc 

entry praa 

{entry reg contains a nusiber 

siathond: 

tat 




rat 




a»v 


{point to error tag 

nuabar kay 

andp 







(wrlca ac cursor - 

taeps track of the 

cursor and calls output character 












(CAIX '.ASM amiimicst 


PC MAGAZINK ■ MARCH2 9. I98« 
264 





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408-33-3171 






PRODUCTIVITY 


■ UTILITIES 



rat 



■dendj : 


cx,cx jclear error flag 

lo^le start : 


bh,«l 

;sea if and operation 


rat 



Jna 

loqicl 


■darn 


bx {Clean off stack 



(di),dx 

iparfore and 


MV 

cx.ffffffffh 



3(dij.ax 



rat 



}"P 

short lofie and 

iprint op and and 

■ul dlv 

andp 


lo^iels 

cap 

bh,«3 

;aaa if or operation 

}. 




jna 

loqicJ 

>no, looh SOM Mrs 

;lhift register - shifts tha register pointed to by di, 1 place. 


or 

(di 1 ,dx 

:do or 





or 

3Idij.aa 


ahift I'cg 

proc 

near 


3-P 

short lo^ic and 

;print op and and 


puah 

ax 

lo9le3i 


bh,ca 

:saa if xor operation 


push 

dx 


Jna 

loflc and 

jgiva up looking 

shift2: 

MV 

dx,|di) igat the register pointed to by bx 


aor 

[di},da 



MV 

ax,2{di| 


aor 

3(di| ,aa 



c^ 

bl.ff isee if left or right shift 

lo9ic andt 

aor 

ex,cx 

:claar error coda 


Ja 

ehiftS : if bleff then left ahift 


rmt 



shiftli 

ear 

dx,l 

■ath proe 

andp 




rer 

ax.t {Shift 32 bita by shifting tha 







short shifts { trailing word first so that its 

jRultiply atM 

Dlwlda 

- procaaa aulttply and divide aath iunctiona. 

Shifts: 

sal 

ax,l 1 msb goes into the carry. Then 






rel 

dx,l ; shift the leading word. 

Ml dlv 




Shifts: 

MV 

Idii.dx 


aor 

ca,ca 






MV 

al9n(el 

;iaro sign flag 

shift end: 




cap 

word ptr |di),cx 

;sao if result rag ia nagatlva 


pop 

ax 


39« 

adl 

>no. skip negation 



{done . 


call 



shift rag 




ine 

si^n 

;sat 1 negative number 

; 



■dll 

»ov 

ai.ofiaat antry raq 

high 

;negate register - 

aubtracts s register from lero. 


cap 

word ptr | ai ] ,• 

isee if negative 

lantry: di points 

o the register being ongated. 


)9* 


;ne, skip negation 





puah 

di 


nacate rac 

proc 

near 


MV 

di>ai 

;nag entry register 


xor 

dx,dx {dear dx 



naoata r#9 


negate! : 

nag 

word ptr 3{di) {negate the registi-r 






abb 



inc 

sign 

:sat 1 Mrs negative number 


MV 

|di 1 ,dx 

1 3 poaltiva 

luabari 

now is aul or dlv 



rat 


■d3> 

puah 

ba 

{save the operation 


andp 



cap 

bl.*«‘ 

iif net *■' it mat bo divide 





Jna 

■di 

I or mod operation. 


reM 

e last digit entered in entry rag by dividing by the tasv 



aa.fdit 

:get rasult high 





■til 

word ptr iai] 

:aMltipty by antry high 

back space 

proc 

near 



ea,dx 



MV 

di, offset entry re.} high 


add 





bx.base flag 



aa.2|di| 

;gat rasult low 



ch, I 


aul 

word ptr (ai ) 

lauiltiply by antry high 



fixed flag,ff 


add 

ca.da 



jc 

back apl 


■ov 

ba, ax 

;start high word of product 



deciaal flag,! 



aa.(di] 

igat rasult high 


1* 

back apT 


Ml 

word ptr 3|ai ] 

ssiultiply by antry lew 


call 

fixed adjust 


add 

cx,dx 



emp 

deciaisl flag, 2 


add 

ba. aa 

leontinua to build final product 





MV 

aa,2(di) 

:get result low 

back sp: i 

call 

mul div shrt 


■ul 

word ptr 2|ti] 

jiiultiply by entry low 

back ap2i 


fixed flag.ff 


add 

bx,dx 

leosiplete upper IS btls 





cap 

ex, a 

jaaa if any overflow 


MV 

bx,10ff 


Jna 

■darr 



cap 

decimal flag. 1 


cap 

bass flag, 11 

;tf in base Iff protect tha sign 



back sp) 


Jna 

■dSS 

{ bit by declaring an overflow 



ba, Iff 


cap 

bx,a 

: if it has been changed. 

back sp3> 


cx.cx 


jl 




call 

■ul div shrt 

milis 



:get the operation back 


cap 

decimsl flag.ff 



short odand 



!• 

back apS 

1 ]&ivlalon part of tha rMtina. 



dee 

deriMl flag 

■dCi 

cap 

word ptr |si|,a 


1 display new 

entry register 


Jna 

■dil 


back apS : 

MV 

bl.l {display entry tegiater 



word ptr 2|si|,S 

isaa if antry rag ■ • 


call 

display n-g {call display rogiater 


J* 

■darr 

; if so, indicate error. 

back end: 

rat 

{done. 

adds 

cap 

fixed flag,! 

:lf in fiaad mode multiply the 

back space 

andp 



J« 

■d? 

{ dividend by Iffff to stake room 







ch,a 

: for the traction. 

idiselav reo 

- writes a register to the screen at the cursor 


call 

fixed adjust 


sentry: bl • 

I, write result ceg. bl • 1, write entry register 









J* 

BdS 

} divisor ia not too big. 

display rag 

proc 

near 


■ov 

bl.l 

1 If it is. divide both registers 


MV 



puah 

di 

j by 2 until tha high word of the 


sub 

aiy cursor_poB,cx 


MV 

dl.sl 

I divisor is aero. 

dlspff 

MV 

al.' • 


call 

shift rag 



call 

write at cur 


pop 

di 



loop 

displ 


call 

shift rag 



cxg> 

bl.ff {Which register to display! 



short mdt 



jne 

displ {bl « ff, display reault register 

Bd«> 


ax.ldil 

;perform the divide. Pirat tha 



bx, offset result reg high 


cwd 


} high word, then tha low one. 


JiV 

short disp2 


Idiv 

word ptr 2|si| 


displ 

MV 

bx. offset entry reg high 


■ov 

bx,ax 

jfftora the high word raault in bx 

disp3> 

MV 

si,3(bx| {load register 


aev 

ax,3|dl| 



MV 

dl, (bx| 


dlv 

word ptr 3isil 



xor 

dx.dx .-clear dx 


pop 

cx 

igat operation back 


MV 

ch,l {initialise digit counter 


0"P 


2sea if division or mod operator 


MV 

aign.dl {dear sign flag 


Jc 




cap 

base flag, is ;ia this a decimal ■ode? 



ax,dx 

:gat remainder in in low word and 


Jne 

diap nC {no, skip signed display of nu-tber 


aor 

ba,bx 

; clear the high word. 


cap 

di.f {BOS if nogative nus^r 

■dand i 

MV 

(drl,bx 



Jpa 

diap nff jno, skip nagation 


■OV 

2:dij,ax 




si {yes, negate ai,di 



fixed flag,! 

2lt in fixed mode, divide 


abb 

dx.dl 


Jc 

adandl 

: by Iffff to correct fraction 


■Mr 

di.dx 


cap 

cl,*»* 



ine 

sign 


Jna 




J*P 

abort diap nff 



eh,l 


iXnsert digit 



call 

fixed adjust 


disp al : 

inc 

ch 

■idandl : 

««P 

sign, 1 

; see if odd t of negative numbers 



fixed flag,! {sea if in fixed »ode 


Jna 

»dand2 

seven nuobar. aailtiply done 





call 

nagata_rag 

:dl already pointing to result rag 










f( 'A/X 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
266 




PRODUCTIVITY 



js 

_ 


(Entry: B£ 

:DX - buffer address. 




eh, 3 

jehsek fer place to put dectnal pt 






jns 

disp nil 









(writs dscinal point 

screen ops 






short disp r.Sl 



push 

da 

(save ea and da. 

ditp t»39t 

itov 

a., eh 

(Since ws know wars in fixsd bass, 


push 

es 


di*p aSl: 

sev 

cl, 3 

> sat up for groups of 3 . 


push 

sx 

(sava entry parazwter 


mov 

bl,-,* 

(tsparsts dsciBsl digits by a *.* 


enp 

adapter, t 

(Bee if CGA, is no disable it 


j*p 

short disp r.S 




ecreen opl 

; before writing to the ecreen. 

disp n4t 


a., eh 

(Dapandirg on tha baas wars in, 


call 




dsc 

al 

( sat up tbs nuBibsr of digits to 

screen epl 


dh, window row 

(row and colusut of window corner 



bass flag, IS 

{ count between the sspsratora. 


BOV 

dl, window coluaui 



j* 

disp n31 

( rot s baas of 8 and 14 svparste 


BOV 

hi , V pxga 

:get video page in BX 


•lOV 

b», “ ■ 

( by 4, for binary, sspsrsts by 3 


MV 

el.di 

(save buffer aderess 


BOV 

e.,4 



call 

vldee_ptr 

;gat atarting address of window 


cup 

baas flag, 2 



BOV 

bx, column adj 

(load index register adjust 


jns 

disp nS 



BOV 

cx,v aegaent 

(get video segment to load into 


sal 

cl,l 




sx 

( as or da latar. 

dl«p nSi 

cbw 


(Now that svsrything is set up. 



•l,i 

(•1"0, screen save, si*!, restore. 


div 


} cheek if s separator in needed 



screen op3 

(Bines this routine dees both the 



ah.s 

1 by cheeking for a resuiinder of 



( screen save snd the screen 


]ns 

disp nt 

; sere whan dividing the digit 


assuBs esinothing 

; restore, ss(si and dsidi are 



sl.bl 

; ccunt by the group nunber. 



ai,di 

{ set to their proper addresses. 

disp nSt < 

call 

writs back 



BOV 

ds,cx 

( Because of this, Mke NO 

1 tDisplay digit. 





ehort screen op3 

( assua^tions on es and da in 



bs.bass flag 

(After ell thin, its tine to 




( this seetien of code. 


SIOV 

ax.di 

: display tha digit. Divide the 

screen op3i 

KAU 

ex. 12 

(12 lines to save 


xor 

dx.dx 

register to display by tne base 


cld 


(Clear or 


div 

bx 

( for each of the digits. 

screen op4 . 

push 

ex 

(save line counter 



di,ax 

(Save high word quotent 


mov 

ex, 44 

(44 words per line 



ax, si 





(transfer one line to buffer 


div 

bx 



emp 

■ l.l 




si,sx 

(sava low word quotent 


J» 

ecreen ops 




ax.dx 

(get reBalnder of division 


add 

si,bx 

(adjust si for next line 


c»p 

al,lB 

(Convert reBsinder to sseii 



short screen ep6 



11 

disp n3 


screen opS i 

add 

di,bx 

(adjust di for next line 


add 

a:,37h 


screen opt i 


cx 

(get line count 


j*P 

short disp r.3 



loop 

screen op4 

(loop until done 


or 

ax, 3Sh 




ea 

(Restore the segMnt registers 

disp n3: 

call 

writs back 

(display digit 


aaauM encode 


;eh*ek to ssa 

if wo 

have coaplstsd ths display. 



da 



enp 

di,0 

(check fer zero number in register 







disp si 




sl,B 

(If we saved the screen, draw the 



S1,S 

(If the registers are zero, rake 



screen op7 

( calc window into the screen. 


Jns 

disp si 

[ sure that at leaat 1 zero has 


call 

open window 



CMP 

fixsd flag.f 

: baen displayed (3 for fixed.) 

screen op7; 

cap 

adapter, • 

(Xf CGA, enable It before 


is 

disp and 

1 If so, exit loop. 


Jns 

screen opt 

: returning. 


CMp 

eh, 3 



call 

cga on 



J1 

disp si 


screen opBi 

ret 



disp and: 

CMp 

sign, > 

;tf the ruBber displayed was 

screen ops 

endp 




J* 

disp sndl 

( nagstive, write s *-* before 






dsc 

Bv cursor ocs 

: the number . 

(Video ptr 

laleulstee the offaet into the video awsury orrspondlng to the row. 


BOV 

al, 



coluam. 

and video page passed to 

it in tbe registers givan below. 


call 

writs at cur 


(entry: dt 

,dl - row, column exit) dl - offeet 

disp sndl: 

sail 

sot cjrsor 


( bl 

- video page 



rst 







disolsv raa 

sndp 



video ptr 

proc 

neer 


(This sswll routine 

ksspa track of ths cursor whan writing backwards. 


MV 

el , 160 

(Coaipute the displscsMnt by tbe 

writs back 

proc 

nsar 



aul 

dh 

( following equation: 


dsc 

BV cursor oos 



sal 

dl,l 

( (row*160)*(col«2)*(psqe*1000) 


call 




xor 

db,dh 



dsc 

BV cursor dos 



add 

sx,dx 



rst 




MV 

di,ax 


writs back 

sndp 





ax,1000h 








bh,bh 


(Display Bass 

- Show what bass ths calculator it In. 


Bul 

bx 







add 



disDlsv bass 

proc 

sar 



ret 




BOV 

dh, window row 

(get coordinscss of window corner 

video ptr 

endp 




BOV 

dl, window coluxn 







inc 

dh 

(BOVS down 1 row 

(cga off routine t 

disable the CCA by writing to the sode select register 


add 

d;,2t 

(snd over 21 eeluiuia 






BOV 

bx, offset baas ptr 

(load address of bass label table 

cga off 


near 



BOV 

ax, bass flag 

(find out what baas were in 


BOV 

dx, 3DAh 

(Wait for the vertical retrace. 


swv 

cl,al 

(Copy baas 

cga of fit 

in 

al.dx 

I then disable tha cga by 


sal 

Cl.l 

(Shift bits over 1 


teet 

• 1,8 

{ writing to the mode select 








( register. 


and 

al,Bch 

(leek only st ths bits ws want 



dx,7 



push 

ax 

isava nuz.bsr fer later 


MV 

al.2Sb 



sal 

ax,l 



out 

dx, si 




fixed flag,l 

(sss if fixsd 


ret 




Jos 

display bl 



endp 




add 

•1,0 

(point tc fixed label 





disolsv bl: 

add 

bx, ax 


(cga on rou 

line to 

enable the cga by writing to the node select register 



ex. $ 








ah, header artr 



proc 

near 


disDlav b2> 


al.Jbxl 

(Display label by looping 6 tines 



ah. IS 

(Get the current video sods, 


call 

output char 



int 

10h 

1 then, using xlat as a table 


inc 

bx 




bx, offset enable value 

: lookup got the value needed 


inc 

dl 



xlat 


( to enable the cga video. 



display b 2 




dx.3O0h 

( rinally, write the value to tbe 


pop 

bx 

(Now display letter to label 



dx, el 

( HSR. 


sar 

bl,l 

( tie number currently being 


ret 




oar 

bl,l 

: displayed. 

egs_on 

endp 




BOV 

al,nu3iber libel|bx) 

(get letter from list 






BOV 

ah, text attr 


(KB RESET r 

eseta tt 

e keyboard and eignals end.-of-interrupt to the 1250 1 


BOV 

dx.Bv cursor dos 







sub 

dl.37 


kb reset 

proe 




call 

output char 



in 

•l,61h 

(got currant control port value 






mov 

ah.al 

leave it in an 

disolsv bass 





or 

•l,00h 

(set bit 7 






out 

61h.al 

) send reset value 

jscrssn ops - 


and restores ths contents of the sccssn beneath the window. 


snv 

al,ah 

(get original value 








(CAIX'.ASM vontinufs) 


PC MAGAZINK ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
267 




PRODUCTIVITY 


■ UTILITIES 



out 

tlh.al 

{sand it out to enable keyboard 


BOV 

CX.42 

{42 characters to writa 


cli 


iauspand interrupts 


BOV 

ah. header attr 

{use haadar attribute for these 



al, 2 fh 

:gat Eox value 


lodab 


{gat tha taxt charactar 


out 

sah.al 

{Band EOI to 82S9 


stosw 


{write char/attr pair to vidao 


sti 


{enable interrupts 


loop 

epanl 

{repeat for all 3S 


rat 




BOV 

ah. bordar attr 

{do rightaost eolusin 

kb r«t«C 

andp 




BOV 

al,179 










{OUTPUT CHM) 

writas 

tha daaignatad charactar diractly to vidao Banory. 


add 

di.coluBn adj 

{adjust DI for next line 

{Entry! DK,DL - row 

coluau) 



rat 




L - attributa, charactar 


write header 








{Write a line 

of characters to tha window 


output char 

proe n 

tar 


write line 

proc 

naar 



push 

di 



push 

cx 



paiah 

ds 



StOBW 


{Write left and charactar 


piiah 

aa 



BOV 

CX,42 

{next 43 eharaetara 


•OV 

aa,v aagBant 



BOV 

ax, bx 

{gat Biddle characters froB bx 


aaauna 

aainothing 



rep 










{get right and charactar froa dx 


piiaK 

ax 







BOV 

bl.v oaoa 

{gat page in BX 


add 

di.coluau) adJ 

{adjust OX for next lina 


call 

vidao ptr 

.■calculate address to writa to 


pop 




cup 

adaptar.a 

lie this a CCA7 


ret 




Jna 

output) 

;no, than skip wait loop 

writa line 

andp 





dx,)DAh 

;qet CGA Status Ragistar address 





output! : 

in 

al.dx 


{Scroll window up • 

scroll window up 1 lin 




al.l 








output 1 


scroll window 

proe 

naar 



ell 


isuspand intatrupts during write 


push 

ax 

{Save ax 

outputs I 


al,dx 

iwait for next hotiaontal tvtraev 







al.l 



BOV 

al. • • 

{first remove cursor by writing 


)• 

outputs 



BOV 

ah, text attr 

{ a space over it. 

output): 

pop 

ax 

:gat charactar and attributa 


call 

writa at cur 



atoaw 


{Writs thaa to video Rwaoiy 


BOV 

ch. window row 

{put upper left corner in CX 


ati 


{enable interrupts 


add 

eh, 2 




bx 

{tiastora registers 


SMV 

el, window column 



pop 

at 



me 

el 



aaauaa 

aaicoda 



aK>v 

dx.cx 

{put lower right corner in DX 


pop 

dx 



add 

dh.5 



pop 

di 



add 

dl,41 



rat 





ah,<h 

{bios scroll up function 

output char 

andp 





al. 1 

{Scroll 1 lina 







bh.taxt attr 

{fill tha lina with blanks 

{OPEN MtKOOU 

draws tha window bordar onto 

tha screen, charactar/attributa 


int 

lib 

{Call bios 

1 ;paira ara sant diractly to vidao aatiery 

or fast diaplay spo<>d. 


call 

sat cursor 


1 





pop 

cx 


opan window 

proc naar 



pop 

ax 





(gat coordinates of window corner 


rat 




BOV 

dl, window eoluBn 


scroll window 

enH^ 




puah 

aa 


sat cursor 

proc 




BOV 

aa.v aa^wnt 

{point ES to video buffer 


BOV 

dl, window eoluaui 

{Sat up ay own cursor location 


aaauai 

aasnothing 



Bov 




eld 


{dear OP for string opaiationa 


add 

dl,)S 



BOV 

bl,v paga 

:gat video page in BX 


add 

dh,7 



IMF 

bh.bh 



s»v 

Bv cursor pos.dx 



call 

vidao_^tr 

{calculate starting addraas 


rat 



{Writ# th« top Lina 

!< tha window bordar 


sat cursor 

efiHp 




BOV 

al.211 

:al ■ left and character 






BOV 

ah. border attr 

mat attributa 

{IMITIALIEE redirects tha keyboard intarcupt, than reserves enough sBaory for 


BOV 


{bl ■ Biddle 42 characters 

{the program 





BOV 

dl.191 

{dl e right and character 






BOV 

bh, ah 

{copy tha bordar attributa 

initialise 

proe near 



BOV 

dh. ah 



swv 

dx. offset program 

{Display inatallatien aaBsags 









;Po tha window haadar line. 




21h 



BOV 

ai.oftaat haadar text jpoint SI to taxt of lina 

{Check for other copies of this prograa in 

BSBory. 



writa haadar 



xor 

bx.bx 

{Start search at sagswnt 9 

{ROW writa tha naxt 

It linaa (no taxtj to 

tha diaplay. 


SMV 

word ptr (antryl.bx 



BOV 

ex.( 

{6 lines to do 


BOV 

ax.cs 

I gat current sagsiant 


BOV 

al,179 

{do leftBOst eoluBn 

find loopi 

me 

bx 

{check next segMnt 



ah, bordar attr 




ax.bx 

{did ws find ourselves? 



bl.)2 

{do next )B colusins (blank} 


Jo 

no copies 

{yes, only 1 copy in Bamory 



bh.taxt attr 




as.bx 




dl.l79 

{do rightsnat column 



aainothing 




dh.ah 




si, offset entry 

{Si is tha offset pointer 

opanS: 

call 

writs lina 



BOV 

di.ai 

{look tha sasia place in both saga 


loop 

opanS 

{loop until finished 


BOV 

cx.ie 

{Check It bytes 

{Writa iina 


from the halp taxt 


cld 


{incrimant pointers during ccBpara 


BOV 

al,19S 

{lower left corner 


rape 

empsb 

{Coaipara bytes 


BOV 

bl.l9C 

{line character 


Jna 

find loop 

{if no eoepare. check another sag 



bh.taxt attr 




dx,o?fset mossagel 

{Display other copy found swasaga 



dl.ita 



BOV 

ah. 9 



call 

writs lina 



int 

21h 

{Tarsiinata without rasMining 

1 iWrlta tha halp linaa. 



swv 

ax.4e91h 

{ resident. Return 1 as rc. 


BOV 

ai.offsat halp taxtl 

{point SI to taxt of lina 


int 

31h 

{tarainata and stay resident 


call 

writs haadar 


no copiaai 

BOV 

ah,)Sh 

{gat currant interrupt 9 vector, 


BOV 

ai.effsat help taxtl 

{point 81 to taxt of line 


BOV 

al,9 

: save it. than replace it with 


call 

writa header 



int 

21h 

{ my own. 

triniah thin^a up by writing tha last lib 



BOV 

old keyboard int.bx 




al.l93 

{lower left corner 


BOV 

old keyboard intr 2 i.a 




bl,19( 

{line character 



ah,39h 




bb.ah 

{Copy header attributa 


BOV 

al,9 



BOV 

dl,2l7 



BOV 

dx, offset main 

{point it to body of prograB 


call 

writa lina 



int 





as 


{Exit by TSR 

nt )U 

Keep enough aasiory t< 

store the screen. 



aaieoda 




dx, (Offset inltialixa 

offset coda«lSSt«15} shr 4 


rat 





ax,3iesh 

{Tarainata with • return coda. 

opan window 

andp 




int 

21h 

{terminate and stay resident 

; routina to 

writa a 

lina of taxt to tha 


Initialixe 

andp 



writa haadar 


naar 



db 

'Calc already present 

•,l3,lS,-$- 


BOV 

al.l79 

{left window bordar charactar 


ends 




atoaw 


{Write it 


•nd 

entry 









K'M.C.ASM atdsf 


PC M A Cj A Z I N K ■ M A R C H 2 9. I 9 « K 
268 





Just memory, just one slot, 


The only SMB, 12MHz, EMS memory. 


JustRAM/AT” is just RAM memory, and 
lots of it. JustRAM/AT'" supplies 4MB or 
SMB of memory for the IBM PC AT* or 
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Just one JustRAM/AT*" memory 
expansion board provides DOS with the 
full SMB of expanded memory allowed 
by the Lotus/Intel/Microsoft* Expanded 
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to SMB of extended memory for Unix', 
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most demanding applications — with 
room left over for system performance 
enhancing RAM disks and disk caches. 
Enough memory to double, triple, even 
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Blues"! With JustRAM/AT’* you can add 
a full SMB now, or add 4MB now and 
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JustRAM/AT’" operates with zero wait- 
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12MHz. Expanded memory is 
implemented in hardware, which is 
much faster than software emulation; 
plus, the Expanded Memory Manager 
(EMM) requires 64KB less conventional 
memory than emulators. JustRAM/AT’" 
memory also allows you to backfill your 
system from 512KB to 640KB. 


Fully compatible with all software which 
adheres to LIM/EMS standards, 
JustRAM/AT’" memory is also com- 
patible with Intel's AboveBoard*. Up to 
8MB of JustRAM/AT’" and AboveBoard 
memory may be used as expanded 
memory within a single system using 
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JustRAM/AT’" memory. AboveBoard 
memory or Microsoft Windows*. 

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warranty, all JustRAM^T’" memory 
products are engineered for a lifetime of 
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Contact your local distributor or 

Call Toll-Free 


1 - 800 - 525-7661 

Dealer/Distributor/OEM Inquiries Welcome. 


N/bnditKic 



COfPL 


84 Inverness Circle East 
Englewood. Colorado 80112 
(303) 790-7400 


Digital Solutions. Inc. DisIribuUon Plus Tricorn 

(404)955-4468 1-800-492-5316 (in Maryland) (516)483-9700 

1-800-241-6651 1-800-638-7654 1-800-TRICOM1 

(outside Georgia) (outside Maryland) (outside New York) 

I {Q Monolithic Systems Corp., 

I 84 Inverness Circle East. Englewood. Colorado 60112 

I □ Sounds Great! Where can I buy one? 

I □ Have a sales rep call. 

I □ Send me more Information immediately. 

i I'm an Q OEM Q VAR Q dealer Q distributor Q end user 
I 

I Name 


'*JustnAM/AT IS a trademark of Pvlonofithic Systems Corporation 

'IBM and AT are irademartcs of International Business Macttines Corporation 

'Lotus IS a trademark of Lotus Development Corporation 

'Intel and Above are trademarks of Intel Corporation 

'Microsoft, Windows and Xenix are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation 

'Unix IS a trademark of AT&T. 

'Pick IS a trademark of Pick Systems 

aRCLE 514 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


Company Name 

Address 

City. State, Zip 

Phone ( ) 

PCM3/29 



CMO. Doing business-to-b 


MONITORS DRIVES SOFTWARE 


Amdek 

Video 310A 12" Amber *129.00 

Video 410 12" A/G/W . . .(ea.) 159.00 

Video 432 PS/2 A/W 179.00 

Video 1280 Graphics Subsys .699.00 
Color BOOT 13" Hi-Res. RGB .349.00 
Color 722 Dual Mode RGB . . .499.00 


CMS 

Transporter 5V!i" PS/2 Disk . *269.00 

Pius 21 20MB Drive Card 319.00 

T-160 60MB Tape-Backup. . . .649.00 
Everex 

Stream 60-8 Ext. Tape-Backup739.00 
Stream 60 PS/2 Tape-Backup . . .Call 


Color 732 12" PS/2 RGB 499.00 

Magnavox 

7BM623 12" TTL Amber 99.99 

CM8762 14"RGB/Composite . . .New 
9CM053 14" Hi-Res EGA . . . .379.00 
8CM873 14" Multimode EGA .449.00 

NEC 

1402 Multisync-ll 599.00 

1501 Multisync-Plus 999.00 


2001 Multisync-XL 20" VGA 2,099.00 

Packard Bell 

PB-1418F 14" Flat TTL A/G/W115.00 
PB-1422EG 14" Hi-Res EGA .369.00 


Polarlod 

Palette EGA Plus 2,399.00 

Princeton Graphics 

Max 12 12" TTL Amber 139.00 

HX-12 12" Color RGB 429.00 

HX-12E 12" EGA 479.00 

Ultrasync 12" VGA 579.00 

Thomson 

4120 14" RGB/Composite . . . .229.00 


Iomega 

Sy4" Bernoulli Box II 999.00 

Irwin 

Irwin 

110D 10MB XT Tape-Backup .219.00 
420XT 20MB Tape-Backup . . .439.00 
Miniscribe 


8425 20MB 3%" 40msec . . . .349.00 
3053 44MB 5’/4" 25msec . . . .669.00 
6085 70MB 5y4" 28msec . . . .889.00 



Mountain 



30MB DriveCard 499.00 

TD-4440 40MB Ext. PS/2, AT. .599.00 

60MB Mountain Tape 999.00 

Dual B’A” BETA Bernoulli . .1,899.00 

PC-TOO 

TD4000 40MB Tape-Backup . .349.00 
Plus Development 

20MB Hard Card 599.00 

Racore 


ZENITH ZMM-1 49 e-enn 
14' PS/2 AMBER 1 99 

Zenith 

ZCM-1490 14" VGA Analog . .699.00 


DISKETTES 


Jr. Expansion Chassis 299.00 

Seagate 

ST-225 20MB 1/2 Height 249.00 

ST-238 30MB 1/2 Height 299.00 

ST-251 40MB 1/2 Height 449.00 

Sysgen 

Bridge-File PS/2 Drive 249.00 

Bridge-Tape Backup 569.00 


Aldus 

Pagemaker 489.00 



ASHTON-TATE 
D-Base III -i- 


’379 


Borland 

Quattro 139.00 

Central Point 

Copy II PC 24.99 

PC Option Board 84.99 

DAC 

Easy Accounting 64.99 

5th Generation 

Fastback Plus 89.99 

IMSI 

Optimouse w/Dr. Halo 79.99 

Logitech 

C7 Mouse w/Software 79.99 

Lotus Development 

Lotus 1»2»3 319.00 

Lotus Symphony 439.00 

MECA 

Managing Your Money 119.00 

MICROPRO 

Wordstar 4.0 Profess w/GL . . .229.00 
Microiim 

R:Base System V 429.00 

Microsoft 

Microsoft Word 4.0 239.00 

Microsoft Mouse Bus/Ser . . . .119.00 
MIcrostuf 

Crosstalk XVI 89.99 

Multimate International 
Multimate Advantage II Prem. . . 299.00 

Norton Software 

Advanced Utilities 86.99 


Maxell 

MD2-HDM Hi Density S’/i" . . . .19.49 

MF2-HD Hi Density 3'/!" 54.99 

MC2050-DC2000 Tape 18.99 

Sony 

MD2D DS/DD S'A" 7.99 

MD2HD Hi Density 5Vt" 16.99 

MFD-2DD DS/DD 3%" 16.99 


POWER CONDITIONER’S 


American Power 

450AT+ 450 Volt AMPS UPS 429.00 
Data Shield 

SS700 700 Volt AMPS UPS . 799.00 

Kensington Microware 

Master Piece Plus 109.00 


Software Publishing Group 


PFS: First Choice 89.99 

PFS: Professional Write 129.00 

PFS: First Publisher 69.99 

Word Perfect Corp. 

Word Perfect 4.2 209.00 

Xerox 

Ventura Publisher 1.1 539.00 



COMPUTER MAIL ORDER 





person to person 


usiness, 


PRINTERS 


Brother 

M-1509 180 cps, 132 COl ‘389.00 

HR-40 40cps, Daisywheel .... 599.00 
FAX-100 Fascimile Machine . .999.00 

CANON 

PC-25 Personal Copier 899.00 

Citizen 

Premier 35 35cps Daisywheel . . 479.00 

C.itoh 

315-XP Epson/IBM 132 col. . .549.00 

Epson 

LX-800 150cps, 80 col 179.00 

FX-86E 240cps, 80 COl Call 

FX-286E 240cps, 132 col Call 

LQ-500 180cps, 24-Wire Call 

LQ-850 330cps, 80 COl Call 

LQ-2500 334cps, 24-Wire Call 

EX-800 300cps, 80 col Call 

Hewlett Packard 

HP-2225 ThinkJet 369.00 

NEC 

P2200 Pinwriter, 24-Wire 379.00 

P660 Pinwriter, 24-Wire 459.00 

P760 Pinwriter, 132 col 639.00 

LC-890 Postscript Laser .... 3,399.00 


MULTIFUNCTION CARDS MS/DOS SYSTEMS 



OKIDATA ML-193-F $ 

200CPS.132 Col. 

Okldata 

ML-192-f 200cps. 80 col 319.00 

ML-293 240cps, Dual 9-Pin . . . 499.00 

ML-393 450cps, 24-Wire r989.00 

Panasonic 

KX-P1080i 144cps, 80 col. . . .189.00 
KX-P1091i 194cps, 80 col. . . .199.00 
KX-P1595 240cps, 132 col 479.00 

Sharp 

FO-210 Facsimile Machine. .1,399.00 
Star Micronics 

NX-1000 140cps, 80 col 179.00 

NX-15 120cps, 132 col 319.00 

Toshiba 

P321-SL 216cps, 24-Wire 539.00 

P351-SX 300cps, 24-Wire 999.00 


AST 

Six Pak Plus 576 ‘139.00 

Advantage-AT Board 289.00 

Hot Shot 286 Board 399.00 

Boca Research 

Top Hat 128K Expansion 99.00 

Boca Multi-EGA 149.00 

Boca RAM/AT 1MB Card . . . .299.00 

DCA 

IRMA 2.2 3278 I/O 749.00 

Everex 

EV-159 RAM 3000 99.99 

EV-657 Micro Enhancer 149.00 

EV-673 Everex Evga Adapter . 279.00 
5th Generation 

Logical Connection 51 2K ... .359.00 
Hercules 

Color Card 129.00 

Graphics Card 149.00 

Graphics Card Plus 169.00 

IDEAssociates 

IDE-5251 Emulation Board . . .579.00 

Intel 

Inboard 386/AT and 386/PC .... Call 

4020 286 Board W/512K 329.00 

80287-8 Co-processor 269.00 

80287-10 Co-processor 299.00 

NSI 

Smart EGA Plus 229.00 

QUADRAM 

Quad386-XT PC Upgrade .... 799.00 
Model-30 Ouadboard PS/2 . . .319.00 
Tseng Labs 

EVA 480 EGA Adapter 229.00 



>299 


VIDEO SEVEN 

VGA Graphics Adapter 

Video-7 

VEGA EGA Adapter 159.00 

VEGA EGA Deluxe Adapter . .229.00 
Zuckerboard 

Monochrome Graphics Card . . . 79.99 
AT-Primary Memory Board . . 99.99 
Tandy 20MB Hard Card 499.00 


AST 

Premium 286 Model-140 . . .‘2,499.00 
Compaq 

DeskPro 286/12 Desktops Call 

DeskPro 386/20 Desktops Call 

Portable 286/386 Call 

IBM 

PS/2 Model 30, Model-50 Call 

PS/2 Model 60, Model-80 Call 

Leading Edge 

Model D Desktops Call 



MODEMS 


NEC MULTISPEED,.^ 

51 2K Laptop 1249 

NEC 

PowerMate II 40MB 2,299.00 

PC-TOO 

640K 8 MHz Turbo System . . .549.00 
512K 10MHz 1.2MB AT-1800 . .999.00 
Toshiba 

1000, 1100-I-, 1200, 3120 LAPS Call 

WYSE 

Model 50, 60 Terminals Call 

Anchor 

1200E External 129.00 

2400E External 169.00 

Lightening 2400 Baud 299.00 

Best Products 

Smart 1200, Vz-Card w/Sott .... 89.99 

Everex 

Evercom 920 1200 Baud Int. . .89.99 
Evercom 940 2400 Baud Int. .189.00 
Evercom 945 2400 Baud Ext. . 239.00 
Hayes 

Smartmodem 1200 Int 229.00 

Smartmodem 1200 Ext 279.00 

Smartmodem 2400 Ext 449.00 

Practical Peripherals 

2400 Stand Alone 199.00 

U.S. Robotics 

2400 Baud Direct Int 179.00 


In the U.S.A. and in Canada 


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Outside the U.S.A. call 717-327-9575, Fax 717-327-1217 
Educational, Governmental and Corporate Organizations call toll-free 1-800-221-4283 
CMO. 477 East Third Street, Dept. B1, Williamsport, PA 17701 

ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED 

POLICY: Add 3% (minimum $7.00) shipping and handling. Larger shipments may require additional charges. Personal and company checks require 3 weeks 
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add 6% sales tax. All prices are U.S.A. prices and are subject to change, and all items are subject to availability Defective software will be replaced with the 
same item only. Hardware will be replaced or repaired at our discretion within the terms and limits of the manufacturer’s warranty. We cannot guarantee com- 
patibility. All sales are final and returned shipments are subject to a restocking fee. CIRCLE 183 ON READER SERVICE CARD 







UTILITIES 


Multiplying Two 32-Bit Numbers 


1234 5678 
* 9ABC DEFO 


Dsro 

* 

5678 

m 



4B4D 

2080 — 

Dsro 

* 

1234 

m 


OFDA 

28C0 


9ABC 

* 

5678 

m 


3443 

B020 


9ABC 

* 

1234 

8 

OBOO 

A630 


— 





OBOO 

U14D 

1242D 

2080 


Original 324n optrand* 


Reaulta o( Intarmadlala 16-M 
multIpIcaUona 


0B00EA4E 242D2080 


644dtinaiitt 


Because neither the 8088 nor the 80286 can multiply two 32-bft numbeiB directly, a different 
strategy must be used. Each 32-t)it operand is divided Info two 16-bit portions, separate 
muMpirations are performed, and the results combined. 


utive divisions by 2. the resulting quotient 
will be unafTected. Another problem with 
division is the fact that the quotient must fit 
into one word. The 8088 places the quo- 
tient of a 16-bit divide into AX and the re- 
mainder into DX. If the quotient is larger 
than 16 bits, an interrupt will occur, indi- 
cating a divide overflow. To avoid this 
problem. CALC performs the division in 
two steps. First, the high word of the divi- 
dend is divided and the re.sult is .stored. The 
remainder of the high-word divide be- 
comes the upper 1 6 bits of the second di- 


■ CALC stores the 
quotient from the first 
divide and loads in the 
dividend for the low- 
word divide. 


vide. Since the microprocessor leaves the 
remainder of the first divide in DX, the 
only thing CALC does is to store the quo- 
tient from the first divide and load in the 
dividend for the low-word divide. After 
the low words are divided, the quotient is 
stored and the divide is complete. 

Yet to be discussed is the problem of 
signed arithmetic. CALC stores numbers 
in 2’s complement form. This means posi- 
tive numbers are represented by the values 
0-7FFF FFFFh. As you would expect. 
Oh = 0, Ih = I, up to 7FFF FFFFh = 



CALC.BAS: A BASIC program that will automatically create CALC.COM. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2>), 1988 
272 











Choosing the wrong 
database for your 
LAN will make you 
the center of attention. 


I f you have a network of 
PCs, you need a multi- 
user database system 
that can handle the pressure. 

When your system slows 
down — or locks out some 
users— you’re going to hear 
about it. Business profes- 
sionals aren't ready for 
screen messages that say 
“RECORD unavailable;’ 

Never a Lockout 

Fortunately, we’ve 
solved this problem. With 
PC/FOCUS-MultiUseif It re- 
solves contention without 
ever locking up a record. You 


can give as many as 16 peo- 
ple concurrent access to 
each database, and they’ll 
get fast response, even at 
peak moments. 

But best of all, they'll 
have FOCUS— the only 
fourth-generation language/ 
database management sys- 
tem available for local area 
networks. 

PC/FOCUS-MultiUser 
offers a complete set of devel- 
opers’ tools including the 
most powerful report writer 
in the industry, plus finan- 
cial, statistical and graphics 
capabilities. 


There’s also a point-and- 
pick windowed interface for 
first-time users. They’ll get 
the full power of FOCUS 
without learning the FOCUS 
language. 

And if you have dBASE III 
on the network, every user 
can apply the powerful data 
analysis tools of PC/FOCUS* 
directly against that database. 

Reaching into the Host 

If there’s a link to an IBM 
host, your users can access 
any database in that system, 
too. FOCUS on the host can 
read every important data- 
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And it can pass data through 
to any PC on the network. 

We give PC/FOCUS- 
MultiUser the same sup- 
port as its mainframe coun- 
terpart-local help lines in 13 
regional offices, a central 


It’s PC/FOCUS 


And it runs on a network: 

Never a record lockout. 

Supports up to 16 concurrent users. 

Works with every important LAN. 

Runs single-user PC/FOCUS 
applications. 

Password protection at the level of file, 
record, field, or value within field. 

Encryption at application, file or field 
levels. 


hotline, and a nationad net- 
work of technical support 
and training centers. 

Before you step into the 
spotlight, learn more about 
PC/FOCUS-MultiUser. Call 
1-212-736-4433. Ext. 3700. 
Or write Information 
Builders. Inc., Dept. L8. 

1250 Broadway. New \brk. 
NY 10001. We’ll send you 
some helpful pointers. 

PC/FOCUS and PC/FOCUS-MultlUscrarc rcgis- 
lerrd trademarks of information Builders, Inc. 
CIRCLE 361 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


PC/FOCUS 

Information Builders, Inc. 



PRODUCTIVITY 


■ UTILITIES 


7»» DATA 

ia3. 

36, 

161, 

74, 

a. 

163, 

97. 

1, 

726 

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14. 

127, 

78, 

187, 

18, 

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247. 

227, 

898 

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36, 

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163, 

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1. 

38. 

636 

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128. 

249, 

1, 

118. 

2, 

247, 

227, 

138. 

1698 

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166, 

33, 

a. 

162, 

191. 

1. 

38, 

128, 

763 

1766 DATA 

249. 

a. 

116, 

9, 

354, 

6. 

126. 

1, 

755 

t2a DATA 

16, 

23, 

a. 

32, 

166. 

16, 

179, 

16, 

462 

1798 DATA 

139, 

93. 

2, 

235, 

32, 

139, 

216, 

139, 

995 

aaa data 

2as, 

16. 

128, 

251. 

16. 

117, 

33, 

196, 

953 

1686 DATA 

5, 

131, 

62. 

115, 

1, 

18, 

116. 

6. 

446 

14a DATA 

6, 

96, 

1, 

6 , 

198. 

6, 

99, 

1, 

467 

1616 DATA 

247, 

38, 

115, 

1, 

335, 

4. 

247. 

46, 

933 

asa DATA 

24, 

38, 

161, 

99, 

8 . 

166. 

64. 

117, 

671 

1826 DATA 

115, 

1, 

114. 

48, 

137, 

5. 

139, 

69, 

638 

aca DATA 

4, 

354, 

6, 

96. 

1. 

14, 

7, 

166, 

562 

1838 DATA 

2, 

247. 

38, 

115, 

1, 

3. 

195, 

131, 

732 

a7a DATA 

15, 

265, 

16, 

66. 

3. 

126, 

39, 

66, 

524 

1846 DATA 

216, 

6. 

1, 

21, 

137, 

69. 

2, 

128. 

568 

aaa data 

7, 

116, 

36. 

166, 

191. 

1, 

36. 

32, 

573 

1858 DATA 

62, 

138, 

1. 

8, 

116, 

3, 

232, 

347, 

791 

ata DATA 

66, 

a. 

117, 

16, 

167, 

64, 

a. 

142, 

586 

1668 DATA 

1, 

128. 

82. 

121, 

1. 

8, 

117, 

13, 

443 

aaa data 

3ia, 

126, 

36, 

33, 

6. 

223. 

93, 

7. 

731 

1878 DATA 

139, 

38. 

117. 

1, 

128, 

351, 

61, 

117, 

844 

aia data 

31. 

65, 

94, 

96, 

89, 

91, 

86. 

157, 

735 

1888 DATA 

3, 

232, 

265. 

4, 

l’». 

1, 

232. 

55, 

911 

929 DATA 

367, 

191, 

19B, 

1, 

235, 

3. 

191. 

283. 

1229 

1696 DATA 

2, 

254. 

6. 

131, 

1. 

195. 

88, 

62, 

741 

asa DATA 

1, 

139, 

5, 

163. 

166. 

1, 

139, 

69. 

617 

1988 DATA 

139. 

22, 

113. 

1, 

138, 

38, 

184. 

1. 

558 

B4a DATA 

3. 

162. 

163, 

1. 

136. 

36, 

164, 

1, 

547 

1918 DATA 

232, 

241, 

3, 

254. 

194, 

137. 

22, 

113. 

1196 

asa DATA 

138, 

69, 

4, 

162, 

165, 

1, 

161, 

97, 

737 

1928 DATA 

1, 

98. 

88, 

195. 

88, 

128, 

62, 

121, 

765 

aca DATA 

1. 

61, 

66, 

a. 

134, 

169, 

369, 

2346 

888 

1938 DATA 

1, 

8, 

111, 

7, 

183, 

117, 

1, 

51, 

457 

919 DATA 

44, 

B8. 

163. 

166, 

1. 

136, 

62. 

162, 

764 

1946 DATA 

281, 

235, 

7, 

135, 

6, 

117. 

1, 

232, 

934 

aaa data 

1, 

166, 

3, 

265, 

16. 

137, 

33, 

111, 

675 

1956 DATA 

72, 

8. 

98. 

131, 

249, 

8. 

116, 

2. 

668 

aaa data 

1. 

136, 

54, 

99, 

1. 

128, 

198, 

2. 

621 

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139, 

269. 

128. 

256, 

a. 

118, 

32, 

176, 

1858 

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178, 

a. 

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2. 

265, 

16, 

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6, 

785 

1978 DATA 

32, 

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255, 

139, 

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232, 

189, 

1467 

laia DATA 

116, 

1, 

1, 

333, 

179. 

7, 

139, 

62, 

731 

1988 DATA 

255, 

232, 

125, 

4, 

51. 

219, 

137, 

36, 

1853 

lasa DATA 

166, 

1, 

51, 

192, 

333. 

16. 

6, 

179, 

875 

1998 DATA 

122, 

1, 

137, 

38, 

124, 

1, 

136, 

38, 

581 

lasa DATA 

B, 

126, 

63, 

121, 

1. 

a. 

116, 

2. 

436 

2888 DATA 

128, 

1, 

136, 

36. 

131, 

1. 

195, 

139, 

743 

laaa data 

3S4. 

195. 

232. 

219. 

4, 

139, 

33, 

113, 

1178 

2618 DATA 

262. 

128. 

237, 

81. 

268, 

329, 

368, 

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1562 

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1, 

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187. 

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4, 

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154, 

6, 

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5, 

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138. 

7, 

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226, 

248, 

1318 

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4S. 

166, 

1, 

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235, 

267. 

139. 

218. 

139, 

22, 

122, 

1, 

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a, 

265. 

23. 

66, 

27, 

116, 

49. 

66, 

539 

2856 DATA 

381. 

124, 

1, 

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1, 

51, 

281, 

856 

laai DATA 

a. 

117, 

5, 

233, 

166, 

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914 

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131. 

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8, 

118, 

37, 

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251, 

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12a, 

252, 

93, 

116, 

26, 

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353, 

59. 

1648 

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117, 

2, 

335, 

83, 

128, 

351, 

43, 

118, 

955 

111a DATA 

116, 

25. 

136, 

353, 

66, 

116, 

26, 

128, 

845 

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32. 

128, 

351, 

45, 

116, 

36. 

128, 

351, 

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113a DATA 

2S2, 

64, 

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16. 

128, 

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42, 

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35, 

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S, 

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1, 

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128. 

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92, 

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114a DATA 

a. 

235. 

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1261 

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116, 

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136, 

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1, 

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1, 

232. 

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975 

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21, 

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89, 

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15, 

258 

llCa DATA 

S, 

139, 

32, 

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1, 

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62. 

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566 

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235, 

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3. 

35, 

31, 

112, 

517 

117a DATA 

1, 

186, 

2. 

265, 

16, 

198, 

6. 

116, 

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2148 DATA 

6, 

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3, 

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333, 

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6, 

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13. 

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33, 

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543 

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21. 

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316, 

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66, 

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262, 

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333, 

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3, 

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1, 

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571 

162a DATA 

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729 

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31, 

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216, 

191, 

123, 

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796 

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349. 

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674 

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1629 

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119, 

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63, 

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673 

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1615 

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21B, 

128, 

<2, 

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a. 

116, 

37, 

673 











17Sa DATA 

13B, 

14, 

12a. 

1, 

128, 

249, 

2, 

116. 

768 




























(( ALL .HAS roiuinuesi 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. 1988 
274 




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I> R O D U C T I V n Y 


■ UTILITIES 


371* DATA 

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934 

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9, 

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937 

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3, 

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9, 

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9, 

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9, 

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3139 DATA 

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299, 

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395. 

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739 

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3, 

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795 

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114, 

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44, 

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714 

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19, 

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9, 

9, 

9, 

9, 

9, 

9, 

44 

3179 DATA 

339, 

93, 

351, 

199, 

97, 

92, 

4, 

143, 

1925 




























(CALC. BAS fnds) 


2,147.483,647. Negative numbers are 
represented by their absolute value below 
0. That is. - 1 = FFFF FFFTTi, which is 0 
decremented by 1 . This means that — 2 = 
FFFF FFFEh, -3 = FFFF FFFDh, and so 
on down to -2,147,483,648 = 8000 
OOOOh. If you invert a number represented 
in 2's complement and then add 1, you 
have changed the sign of the number. 
Thus, for example, if you take - 3 = FFFF 
FFFDh, invert the number (giving (XXX) 
(XX)2). then add 1 , you get 0000 (X)03. 

To simplify the math routines in 
CALC, all multiplication and division are 
performed using positive numbers. On en- 
try into the multiplication and division rou- 
tines. the two numbers are checked to see 
if they are negative. If a number is nega- 
tive, it is negated. The number of negative 
signs is counted; if the number is odd, the 
result of the division or multiplication is 
negated. For addition and subtraction, the 
opcodes work for 2’s complement notation 
without any extra processing. 

For all math operations CALC checks 
for invalid results. In the cases of addition, 
subtraction, or multiplication, CALC 


checks for overflows in the result. For di- 
vision CALC checks to make sure the divi- 
sor is not zero. When using the divide op- 


■ Since CALC stores all 
numbers in binary form, it 
is the responsibility of the 
display routine to trans- 
late the numbers into the 
proper base selected. The 
routine is quite simple. 


code, it is important to detect the 
possibility of an error before it is allowed 
to occur. This checking is important be- 
cause the 8088 will perform an intemipt 0 
if an error is detected during a divide. 
When an error is detected, CALC aborts 


the operation and notifies you by display- 
ing an error notation to the right of the in- 
valid result. 

DISPLAYING NUMBERS S ince 
CALC stores all numbers in binary form, it 
is the responsibility of the display routine 
to translate the numbers into the proper 
base selected. The rouune to provide this 
translation is actually quite simple. The 
number to be displayed is copied into a 
temporary location and divided by the cur- 
rent base. The resulting quotient is saved. 
The remainder of the division is converted 
into ASCII and is displayed as the least sig- 
nificant digit. The stored quotient is then 
divided by the base again to produce the 
next digit to display. This loop continues 
until the quotient is zero, indicating that 
the entire number has been displayed. For 
decimal and fixed numbers, the register to 
be displayed is checked to see if it is nega- 
tive. If the number is negative, the register 
is negated before being displayed, and a 
minus sign is appended to the left of the 
displayed number. 

Fixed notation is simply a function of 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 198 
277 



HowTo Ea^ Start 
A Feeding feizy 


We realize if you’re looking for a fast, letter- 
quality printer, there’s a few out there to choose 
from. We should know, we’ve developed some of 
the very best. 

But if you’re looking for a printer that’s not only 
fast, but can easily devour any job you throw at it, 
you’d best look at the newTbshiba P351SX 24-pin 
dot matrix printer. 

Take envelopes, for example. The P351SX 
comes with an optional automatic envelope feeder. 
That way your envelope is printed with the same 
speed and ease as your document. 

We even replaced the hassle of dip switches 
with our new front panel. So you can make all your 

^ ^ choices at the touch of a button. 

I I But we wanted to make your print- 
jf ^ ^ _ ing jobs even easier still, so 

■ we added a few more conven- 

ient features. 

Like the unique ability 
to print six-part forms 
with each part as legible 
as the first. Plus a built-in 


I I 



tractor and tear bar. A fanfold bypass. An autoload 
lever. A multistrike film ribbon. IBM Proprinter 
and Graphics Printer,' Qume Sprint 11? Toshiba 
and other popular printer emulations. And 
a 64 K buffer. 



But rest assured, none of these features were 
added at the expense of speed. Because ±e 
P351SX zips merrily along at an amazing 360 cps 
for draft and 120 cps for letter quality. 

All of which means the P351SX printer will 
quickly polish off any printing job. From letters and 
envelopes to graphics and full-sized spreadsheets. 

And that’s an appetizing thought for any 
busy office. 

For the name of your nearest Toshiba printer zmd 
computer dealer, call 1-800-457-7777. 

MBM and Pro;»inter are registered trademarks of lntematic»ial Business 
Machines Corporation. ’Qume Sprint 11 is a regi.stered trademark Qume Corp. 


In Touch with Tomorrow 

TOSHIBA 

To^iba Amenca. Inc.. Infc^malion S>‘steins Division 





PRODUCTIVITY 


UTILITIKS 


CALC BY MODEM 

T he programs published in PC 
Ma)>a:ine can be duu nloaded 
by imxlem from the PC Magazine 
Interactive Reader Service. There 
is no charge for this service, but 
users are cautioned that these prtv 
grams are copyright material and 
are made available only for indi- 
vidual, noncommercial u.sc. You 
may make copies for others (in- 
cluding placement on noneom- 
niercial electronic bulletin 
boards), as long as no charge is in- 
volved. .Making copies for any 
commercial purpose, however, is 
strictly prohibited. 

The Eastern modem number 
for PC-IRS is (212) 6%-0.160. In 
the West, call (41.S) 598-9 1 (X). Set 
your mixlem and communications 
software to use 24()0/l200/.500 
bps, 8 data bits. 1 stop bit, no pari- 
ty. Files with a COM, EXE. or 
■ ARC extension require use of the 
Xmodem error-checking prot(x;ok 
files with .ASM or .BAS exten- 
sions can be down loaded using ei- 
ther regular ASCII or Xmodem. 

If you use the Xmodem prouv 
col, you can download CALC 
COM directly, saving typing or 
downloading either the .BAS or 
the ASM version. CALC.BAS, 
whether entered from the maga- 
zine at your keyboard or down- 
loaded from PC-IRS. will auto- 
matically create CALC.COM 
when run once in BASIC. CALC. 
ASM. also listed both here and on 
PC-IRS. allows you to nuxlify the 
program, but requires you to use a 
macro assembler (IBM or Micro- 
soft. Version 2 or later) and the fol- 
lowing commands; 

MASM CALC; 

LINK CALC; 

EXE2BIN CALC CALC.COM 

Photocopy this page. Trim and 
hole-punch the copy aiul add it to 
vour DOS manual. 


r' 


CALC 

Command 


Douglas Boling 


1988/ No. 6 (Utilities) 


■ 




Purpose: A programmer's pop-up calculator with base conversion, bit- 

shifting, logical operators, mod functions, and 32-bit number 
representation that also supports two-decimal fixed-place 
arithmetic calculations. 

Format: [d; ] [ \path]CALC 

Remarks: CALC is a terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) program that can 

be loaded either at the DOS command line or as a part of an 
AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The Alt-S key combination (default) 
pops up a six-line window for calculations; the Esc key 
restores the screen to its previous condition. The program 
accommodates automatically to monochrome, CGA, EGA, or 
VGA displays 

Any number on CALC's entry line can be successively 
converted to hexadecimal, binary, octal, or decimal (default) 
notation by pressing FI. Mixed-base calculations are sup- 
ported, and the +, -, and / function conventionally so long 
as it is realized that CALC operates in integer, not floating-point 
mode. (Two-decimal fixed-place calculations can be made by 
pressing F2 before entering the numbers.) In integer mode the 
mod function (e.g., 25 mod 8 = 1) is also supported, using 
either the % or the \ sign as the operator. 

CALC uses full 32-bit number representation and so can be 
used for address calculations. The function keys F3, F4, and 
F5 perform logical AND, OR, and XOR operations between 
two numbers. F6 performs a NOT (invert) function on the 
number entered. F7 shifts bits left and F8 shifts right. F9isa 
change-sign key, and FIO clears the entry line. To clear the 
calculator field, press Shift-FlO. 

Instructions on modifying the default hotkey and colors are 
presented, with appropriate tables of possible values, in a 
sidebar to the main article. 


L. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
279 




P R () I) U (■ I 1 V I r Y 



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CIRCLE 253 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


■ UTILITIES 


the enter number and display number rou- 
tines. Internally, the number is represented 
the same way as the other bases. The only 
adjustments in the math routines are in the 
multiplieation and division routines. In the 
multiplication routine, the final result is di- 
vided by 100 to correctly place the product 
in relation to the decimal point. For divi- 
sion, the dividend is multiplied by 100 be- 
fore it is divided. This multiplication 


■ CALC is a utility you 
can quickly come to be 
dependent upon. Even as 
I was developing CALC, I 
was using earlier versions 
to translate decimal to hex 
and perform bit shifts. 


makes room for a two-digit fraction. When 
a number is converted from integer deci- 
mal to fixed decimal, the number is multi- 
plied by 100 to allow for a fraction. When 
a fixed number is converted to an integer, 
tbe number is divided by 100 to truncate 
the fraction. 

CALC is a utility you can quickly come 
to be dependent upon. Even as I was devel- 
oping CALC. I was using earlier versions 
to translate decimal to hex. add numbers, 
and perform bit shifts. By looking at the 
a.ssembly language code, you can gain 
some insight into how today’s TSRs exam- 
ine the current PC environment. More may 
be learned about the ins and outs of 32-bit 
math. Finally, by examining the CALC 
utility's change base routine, you can see 
that with a little thought, big memory- 
hungry compare-and-Jump-trees can be 
avoided. Mostly, though, I think you’ll 
just be satisfied with having CALC there 
when it is needed. iiS 


Douglas Boling is an electrical engineer 
who has been involved in the design of 
computer hardware and software fur II 
years. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
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1 VfTV 


I ENVIRONMENTS ■ CHARLES PETZOLD 





Os/2 THREADS 

AND HIGH-LEVEL 
LANGUAGES 



Using OSlI's multiple threads in C programs presents potential but soluble problems. When 
it comes to the C library Junctions, the old specter of nonreentrancy haunts us again. 


S ometimes the documentation that 
accompanies the ()S/2 Software De- 
velopment Kit can be a little scary. 

Here's a warning appended to the descrip- 
tion of the DosCreatcThread function: 

High-level languages, run-time li- 
braries, and stack checking may se- 
verely limit or eliminate the ability 
to call DosCreatcThread directly 
from a high-level language pro- 
gram, 

It'sagtHxl thing I didn't mention this in the 
la.st issue, or we might never have attempt- 
ed to call DosCreatcThread fnrm a C pro- 
gram! 

As you'll discover in this column, there 
is gorxl rca,son for the warning. But I re- 
main convinced that multiple threads can 
be created in C programs provided the pro- 
grammer is alert to the potential problems. 

It akso helps if the programmer has a gtxxl 
backgrxrund in assembly language and is 
familiar with the assembly language code 
that makes up the C library functions. 

SAME CODE, OTHER THREADS In 

last issue's column we looked at two pro- 
grams that created a second thread of exe- 
cution. Let's take another step forward. 

The QUADRANT program shown in 
Figure I creates four additional threads of 
execution. Each of these additional threads 
uses the same thread function, which is 
called ThreadFunction . 

QUADRANT uses the four threads to 
draw and erase rectangular "spirals" con- n^reV.QVADRANT.C createsfouraddiuonalthreadsof execudonbosedomhe same thread 

I tinuously in the four quadrants of the function. 


/. 

QUADRANT. C — OS/2 Program that Runa 4 Threads Uaing One Thread Function 
(C) 1988. Siff Communications company 
PC Hagazine * Programmed by Charles Petzold, 11/87 
•/ 

finclude <doscalXs.h> 
f include <subcalls.h> 

•define min(a,b) (<a) < (b) 7 <a) t {b)> 

void far ThreadFunction (void) ; 

main ( ) 

< 

static unsigned char Threadstack [4] (1024) ; 
unsigned int i, ThreadiD [4] ; 

struct KeyData kd ; 

for (i ■ 0 } i < 4 ( i-*"*) 

if ( OOSCREATETHREAD (ThreadFunction, tThreadlD (i], 

Threadstack (i) * 1024}) 

{ 

puts ("QUADRANT: Could not create thread") ; 
return 1 ; 

> 

KBDCHARIN (Skd, 0, 0} ; 

return 0 ; 

) 

•pragma check_stack- 

void far ThreadFunction ( } 

{ 

static struct ModeData md ; 

static int ThreadNumber • 0, NumRep ; 

unsigned int MinRow, NaxRow, MinCol, MaxCol ; 

unsigned int MyThreadNum, Cycle, Rep, Row, Col ; 

DOSENTERCRITSEC ( ) ; 

if (ThreadNumber ■■ 0) 

{ 

md. length > sizeof (md) ; 

VIOGETKODE ((Bid, 0) ; 

NuBiRep ■ (min (Bid. col, md.rov) / 2 + 1 ) / 2 ; 

> 

MyThreadNum ■ ThreadNuBiber ; 

ThreadNumber +- 1 ; (eon/inun) 


PC MAGAZINH ■ MARCH 2 9. 1988 
283 



I ■ ENVIRONMENTS 



DOSEXITCRITSEC ( ; 

MinRow 8 MyThreadNum >17 md.row / 2 : 
MaxRow 8 MinRow 4- md.row / 2 ; 

HinCol 8 MyThreadNum % 2 7 md.col / 2 : 
MaxCol 8 Mincol * md.col / 2 ; 

0 ; 

0 ; 


while (1) 

for (Cycle * 0 ; Cycle < 2 ; Cycle++) 

for (Rep 8 0 • Rep < NumRep ; Rep4'+) 


Row 8 MinRow + Rep ; 



for (Col 8 MinCol+Rep ; Col < Maxcol-Rep-l 
Display (Cycle, Row, col, MyThreadNum) 
for (Row 8 HinRow-fRep ; Row < HaxRow-Rep-1 ; 
Display (Cycle, Row, Col, MyThreadNum) 

Col++) 

ROW++ ) 

for (Col 8 MaxCol-Rep-1 
Display (Cycle, Row 

Col > MinCol-fRep ; 
Col, MyThreadNum) 

Col—) 

for (Row 8 MaxRow-Rep-1 
Display (Cycle, Row 

} 

} 

Display (Cycle, Row, Col, Num) 
int Cycle, Row, Col, Num ; 

Row > MinRow-fRep 
Col, MyThreadNum) 

Row — ) 

char string (2] ; 



String (0] ■ (char) (Cycle 0 7 Nun + 

string (IJ - '\x07' ; 



VIOWRTCELLSTR (String, 2, Row, Col, 0) 



DOSSLEBP (0L) : 

> 


(Figure 1 ends) 


screen. Eiach of these four threads uses a 
different character — the number 0, 1 , 2. or 
3 — for drawing its own spiral. 

The main thread (thread I ) calls Dos- 
CreatcThread four times to create the four 
threads. EJach of the four threads gets its 
own stack. The main thread then calls 
KbdCharln to go into hibernation until a 
key is pressed. Pressing any key tenni- 
nates the program. 

Each of the four threads has its own 
80286 microprtK'essor state. This means 
that when OS/2 switches among these four 
threads, it must save the contents of the 
80286 registers (including the instruction 
pointer and stack pointer) of the thread it's 
switching away from, and restore the con- 
tents of the microprtxrcssor registers of the 
thread it's switching to. In this respect the 
threads can run independently. 

But these four threads also access data 
stored in variables defined within Thread- 
Function and Display. The question we 
must answer is: How can the threads avoid 
clobbering each other when they reach for 
the same data? 

STATIC AND AUTOMATIC DATA 

You'll notice that some of the variables 
within ThreadFunction are defined as stat- 
ic and some are not. The distinction is very 
important. 

When you first start learning C. you 
Icam that variables defined as static within 
a function retain data between function 
calls. That is. if a function sets a static vari- 
able to 55 during one function call, the 
static variable will still be 55 the next time 
the function is called. 

A variable that is not defined as static is 
called an “automatic" variable. You can 
explicitly define a variable as automatic by 
giving it an auto or register type. Automat- 
ic variables defined within a function lose 
their values when a function is exited. 

But these definitions are not quite ade- 
quate when dealing with functions used by 
multiple threads in an OS/2 program. A 
more helpful definition is this: static vari- 
ables are stored in the program's data area, 
while automatic variables are stored on the 
stack or in registers. 

For example, if you kxtk at a disassem- 
bled C program, you'll find that the com- 
piler creates a prologue and an epilogue for 
each function, like this: 


PUSH BP 
MOV BP, SP 

SUB SP, XX 

[body of function] 

MOV SP, BP 

POP BP 
RET 

(The prologue may be different if .stack 
checking is enabled. When compiling for 
80286 ctxic. the first three statements can 
be replaced with an ENTER instruction, 
and the two statements preceding RET can 
be replaced with LEAVE.) 

The value of .cv in the prologue code is 
set equal to the size in bytes of the storage 
needed for the function's automatic vari- 
ables. The automatic variables can then be 
referenced by negative offsets to the BP 
register relative to the stack segment, thus: 

SS: [BP - offset] 

Parameters passed to the function arc posi- 
tive offsets to BP. By contrast, variables 
defined as static within a function have an 
absolute address relative to DS (the data 
segment). 


You'll recall that each thread in a pro- 
cess has its own 80286 microprocessor 
state, its own 80287 math coprocessor 
state, and its own stack. For multiple 
threads in a prtxess that use the same func- 
tion. this has an important implication: All 
variables defined within the thread func- 
tion as static are shared among the threads. 
Each thread, however, has its own private 
copy of the automatic variables. This is 
true not only for the thread function, but 
for all functions-callcd by the thread func- 
tion. such as the Display function in 
QUADRANT. 

In ThreadFunction. the variable 
ThreadNumber is defined as static. Each 
of the four threads addresses the same val- 
ue in QUADRANT'S data area when the 
threads access ThreadNumber. The 
MyThreadNum variable is not defined as 
static, which means that it's an automatic 
variable and is stored on the stack. In ef- 
fect. each thread maintains its own My- 
ThreadNum variable on its own stack. 

ThreadFunction contains the two state- 
ments 

MyThreadNum = ThreadNumber ; 

ThreadNumber += 1 ; 


PC MAGAZ INt ■ MARCH2 9. 19li« 
284 




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“For students, Microsoft^ QuickC^ 
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1> R C) U U C l I V I T Y 

■ ENVIRONMENTS 


Because ThreatlNumber is initialized to 
zero, the first thread that executes these 
two statements sets its own MyThread- 
Num to zero and increments Thread- 
Number, The second thread then sets its 
own MyThreadNum to 1 and increments 
ThreadNumber. In this way, each thread 
establishes for itself its own identity. The 
threads use the MyThreadNum variable to 
display the number to the screen. 

The distinction between static and auto- 
matic variables is afso ob.scrved when 
ThreadNumber obtains the dimensions of 
the screen by calling VioGetMtxle. The 
VioGetMode function is called only 


■ For multiple threads in a 
process that use the same 
function, each thread has 
its own private copy of 
the automatic variables. 


once — by the thread that executes the code 
the first time. The ModeData structure 
passed to VioGetMode is a static variable 
so that the second, third, and fourth addi- 
tional threads can u.se the values .set in the 
structure. 

The simple rule is this: for threads, stat- 
ic variables are shared; automatic variables 
are private. 

CRITICAL SECTION FUNCTIONS 

Once you begin using static variables with- 
in a thread function, you have to start 
thinking about what happens if OS/2 
switches between threads at the wrong 
time. 

Consider again, for example, those two 
statements from QUADRANT'S thread 
function: 

MyThreadNum = ThreadNumber ; 

ThreadNumber += 1 ; 

What happens if the first created thread ex- 
ecutes the a.ssignment statement but. be- 
fore it has a chance to increment Thread- 
Number, OS/2 decides it's time to let the 
.second created thread run for a while'.' 


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PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 19 
290 


■ ENVIRONMENTS 


Now the second created thread executes 
the assignment statement and — Yikes! 
The ThreadNumber variable is still equal 
to zero! 

A series of statements like these is often 
called a “critical section." It is important 
for these statements to be executed without 
interruption from other threads in the .same 
process. 

To halt all other threads in a process 
during a critical section, you sandwich the 
critical section code between calls to Dos- 
EnteiCritSec and DosExitCritSec. This is 
.shown in QUADRANT.C. DosEnterCrit- 


■ DosEnterCritSec and 
DosExitCritSec affect all 
the threads in the same 
process except the thread 
calling the functions. 


Sec essentially says, “Everybody stop. 1 
have .something important to do." Dos- 
ExitCritSec says, “OK, everybody back 
to work." 

In last issue's column I discussed Dos- 
SuspendThread and DosResumeThread. 
These two functions affect only one specif- 
ic thread. The DosEnterCritSec and Dos- 
ExitCritSec functions affect all the threads 
in the same process except for the thread 
calling the functions. These functions do 
not affect threads in other processes. The 
thread calling DosEnterCritSec does not 
ensure for itself uninterrupted processing, 
because it can be interrupted if OS/2 
switches to a thread in another process. 
But it cannot be interrupted by a thread in 
the same process. 

THE THREAD STACK In the two pro- 
grams in last issue's column, the stack 
used for the additional threads was an auto- 
matic array defined in main . The address 
of the end of this array (the top of the stack) 
is passed to the DosCreateThread func- 
tion. 

QUADRANT needs four stack arrays. 
Rather than taking them from the pto- 

8 8 




P R O D II C T I V I T Y 


gram's main stack (which, by default, is 
set to about 2K and is not quite large 
enough for four threads' stacks), I decided 
to define them as static arrays. 

This decision has side effects. Normal- 
ly. the function prologues in a program 
compiled with the Microsoft C compiler 
contain a call to a function that checks for 
stack overflow. Because the stack of the 
thread function is outside the program's 
normal stack, this check would abort the 
program with an error message. Stack 
checking must therefore be inhibited in the 
thread function and in every function 
called from the thread function. 

In QUADRANT this is accomplished 
with a pragma statement: 

♦pragma check_stack- 

You can also compile with the -Gs compil- 
er flag to disable stack checking for the en- 
tire module. 

We've seen how the thread's stack can 
be a chunk of memory either from the pro- 
cess's main stack or from the process’s 
static data area. Either is OK because the 
stack and the static data area occupy the 
same physical segment. Even though the 
compiler generates code that accesses 
stack data relative to the SS segment regis- 
ter and accesses static data relative to the 
DS segment register, the two registers 
have the same value and reference the 
same segment. More briefly, in C syntax: 

DS == SS 

It is also possible for a program to allo- 
cate a chunk of memory for a thread stack 
by calling DosAllocSeg. At this point, 
however, everything gets a little hairy. 
Thai's because within the thread func- 
tion — and in every function called from 
the thread function — the thread's data seg- 
ment and stack segment are different. In 
other words: 

DS 1= SS 

This little quirk does not prevent you 
from programming in C. (In fact, the prob- 
lem of different stack and data segments 
also shows up in the programming of OS/2 
dynamic link libraries.) But when you’re 
writing code for multiple-thread pro- 
grams, it certainly adds another layer of 
complexity. I'll discuss the implications in 
a later column on dynamic link libraries. 


■ DOS programmers 'who 
have ventured into the 
programming of RAM- 
resident utilities are well 
aware of what reentrancy 
problems can entail. 


Conclusion: Avoid using DtxsAllocSeg 
to get a block of memory for a thread’s 
slack if you're programming in a high- 
level language. 

USING C LIBRARY FUNCTIONS Ear- 
lier, we looked at two lines of code in 
QUADRANT that we identified as a criti- 
cal section. This raises a disturbing ques- 
tion: Could there be similar critical code 
hidden away in the middle of normal C li- 
brary functions? Unfortunately, the an- 
swer is yes. 

The problem involves reentrancy. DOS 
programmers who have ventured into the 
programming of RAM-resident utilities 
arc well aware of what reentrancy prob- 
lems can entail. DOS itself is a nonreen- 
trant operating system: while one program 
is in the middle of making a DOS function 
call, another program cannot make a DOS 
function call without taking special pre- 
cautions. The nonreentrancy of DOS has 
plagued the writers of RAM-resident pro- 
grams for years. Most of the infamous 
“undocumented" features of DOS in- 
volve various ways in which DOS pro- 
grams such as PRINT get around the reen- 
trancy problem. 

OS/2 doesn’t have this problem. You 
do not have to worry about calling OS/2 
functions — even the same OS/2 func- 
tion — from multiple threads. 

What you do have to worry about is 
calling normal C library functions. Many 
C library functions are not reentrant: if one 
thread is in the middle of a library function 
call, another thread cannot call that same 
function. 

When you question the Microsoft peo- 


ple in charge of the programming products 
about the problem with C library function 
reentrancy, they groan and admit that it has 
to be fixed. As we’ll see, however, doing 
so may prove something of a challenge. 

The problem affects only those library 
functions that use static variables. If the 
function uses only stack variables, every- 
thing is fine; each thread has its own stack. 
For simple C functions, you can usually 
determine if the function uses static data 
just by thinking it through. For example, 
the strlen function determines the 
length of a zero-terminated string. That’s a 
fairly simple operation that can be done en- 
tirely with registers. Does strlen use 
static data? Probably not, and in fact, it 
doesn't. Calling strlen from multiple 
threads is perfectly safe. 

REENTRANCY AND RAND Of those 
library functions that are not reentrant, 
rand is a good simple example. Normal- 
ly, successive calls to the rand function 
generate a pseudo-random sequence ba.sed 
on a seed. 'The initial value of the .seed is I . 
but it can be changed with a call to 
srand . 

If you were to duplicate the rand func- 
tion by writing it in C, it would look some- 
thing like this: 

unsigned long seed « 1 ; 
rand ( ) 

{ 

seeds<0x343FDL • seed) + ex269EC3L ; 
return(int) |0x7FFF ( (seed »16)) ; 
> 

The seed is a static variable that changes 
with each call to rand . Thus, the same 
seed value is shared among all threads that 
call the rand function. That in itself is not 
a problem. 

The problem occurs during the calcula- 
tion. The function loads the value of the 
seed from memory, does a 32-bit multiply, 
then a 32-bit add. and stores the result back 
in the variable seed. If this calculation 
were interrupted between the load and the 
store by a call from another thread to 
rand , the two function calls could return 
the same “random" number. 

Storing the new 32-bit value back in 
memory requires two MOV instructions. 
If OS/2 switched to another thread be- 
tween these two MOV instructions, and 
the second thread called rand . then that 
rand call could use a .seed that was half 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
291 


p|(S-i;:. : ::■ 

I ■ ENVIRONMENTS 


: ■ •■3 





old and half updated. Clearly, the results 
would be a little more random than one 
would prefer! 


CRITICAL SECTION SOLUTION Let s 
fix the rand function without rewriting it. 
One solution is to use the DosEntctCritScc 
and DosExitCritScc functions I discussed 
earlier. You make up your own function 
called (for example) SafeRand. It Itxtks 
like this: 

SafeRand ( ) 

{ 

int ReturnValue ; 
DOSENTERCRITSEC ( ) ; 
ReturnValue = rand ( ) ; 
DOSEXITCRITSEC ( ) ; 
return ReturnValue ; 

} 

Now instead of calling rand in your priv 
gram you call SafeRand. The two critical 
section functions allow only one thread to 
call rand at any time. 

THE SEMAPHORE SOLUTION As a 

general solution to the recntrancy prob- 
lem. the critical section functions arc prob- 
ably overkill. DosEntcrCritSec suspends 
all other threads in the process. You don't 
need to go that far — you only need to pre- 
vent multiple threads from calling rand at 
the same time. 

You can do this more efficiently using a 
semaphore. 

Semaphores are likely be the topic of a 
future Environments column, so I only 
want to touch on them briefly at this point. 
There are two basic types of semaphores. 
System semaphores have filclike names 
and can be shared among processes. RAM 
semaphores arc private to a process but can 
be shared among threads. We'll create a 
RAM semaphore to solve the rand reen- 
trancy problem. 

Semaphores have two general applica- 
tions: signaling and resource control. In 
both uses, semaphores often serve as tem- 
porary roadblocks for a thread of execu- 
tion. When a thread comes up against a 
semaphore that is "set" or "owned" by 
another thread (or process), the thread is 
blocked or suspended. When the other 
thread (or another process) "clears" the 
semaphore, then the blocked thread pro- 
ceeds. 

PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH’ 9. 1988 
292 


/. 

ALPHSOUP.C — OS/2 Program that Runs 26 Threads Using One Thread Function 
(C) 1969, Ziff Communications Company 
PC Magazine • Programmed by Charles Petzold, 11/87 
— - - •/ 

•include <do8call8.h> 

•include <8ubcalls.h> 

void far ThreadFunction (void) ; 

main ( } 

{ 

static unsigned char Threadstack [26] (1624] ; 

unsigned int i, ThreadID [26] ; 

struct KeyData kd ; 

for (i ■ 6 } i < 26 ; •++) 

if (DOSCREATETHREAD (ThreadFunction, 4ThreadlD (ij, 

Threadstack [i] * 1024)) 

< 

puts ("RANOQUAD: Could not create thread") ; 
return 1 ; 

> 

KBDCHARIN (4kd, 0, 0) ; 
return 0 : 

) 

•pragma check_stack- 

void far ThreadFunction ( ) 

< 

static struct ModeOata md ; 

static char cloarcell [2] ■ " \x07" ; 

static int ThreadNumber • 0 ; 

unsigned int MinRow, MaxRow, MinCol, MaxCol ; 

int MyThreadKum, Row, Col ; 

DOSENTERCRITSEC ( ) } 

if (ThreadNumber 0) 

( 

vioscROLLUP (0, 0, exFFFF, 0XFFFF, 0XFFFF, clearcell, 0L) ; 

md. length ■ sizeof (md) ; 

VIOGETHODE (4md, 0) ; 

} 

KyThreadNum ■ ThreadNumber ; 

ThreadNumber 1 ; 

DOSEXITCRITSEC ( ) ) 

Row - SafeRand () % md.row ; 

Col ■ SafeRand () % md.col ; 

while (1) 

{ 

Row - (Row -f SafeRand () % 3 - 1 -f md.row) % md.row ; 

Col > (Col SafeRand () % 3 • 1 md.col) % md.col ; 

Display (0, Row, Col, KyThreadNum) ; 

DOS8LEEP (01.} ; 

Display (1, Row, col, KyThreadNum) ; 

} 

) 

SafeRand ( ) 

{ 

static long semaphore ■ 0 t 
int ReturnValue ; 

DOSSEKREQUEST ((unsigned long) (long far •) ssemaphore, -IL) ; 

ReturnValue * rend ( ) ; 

(emtinues) 


Rgure 2: TheALPHSOUP prof>ram creates 26 additional threads of execution and demonstrates 
how semaphores prevent Ubrarv function reentranev problems. 




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PRODUCTIVITY' 

■ ENVIRONMENTS 


DOSSEHCLEAR ((unsigned long) (long far •) (Semaphore) ; 

return Returnvalue ; 

> 

Display (Cycle, Row, col, Nun) 
int Cycle, Row, Col, Nun ; 

( 

char String [2] ; 

String [fl] ■ (char) (Cycle -■ 0 ? Num + 'A* i ' ') ; 

String jl] ■ '\x07' j 

if (Nujn -■ 0) 

String [1) • *\xlB' ; 

VIOVfRTCELLSTR (String, 2, Row, Col, 0) ; 

> 

{Figure 2 endst 


In a signaling application, the fact that 
the thread was able to proceed past the 
semaphore is, in effect, a form of inter- 
thread or interprocess communication. In a 
resource control application (which is 


u Semaphores have two 
general applications: 
signaling and resource 
control. In both uses, 
they often serve as 
temporary roadblocks for 
a thread of execution. 


what we’ll be using), an unblocked sema- 
phore lets a thread use a particular re- 
source, such as the rand function. 

If OS/2 did not support semaphores, 
you might try mimicking their operation 
like this: 

SafeRand ( ) 

{ 

static int Flag = 0 ; 
int Returnvalue ; 

DOSENTERCRITSEC ( ) ; 
while (Flag 1= 0) ; 

Flag = 1 ; 

DOSEXITCRITSEC ( ) ; 
Returnvalue = rand ( ) ; 
Flag = 0 : 

return Returnvalue ; 

} 


The first thread that calls SafeRand sets the 
Flag variable to I . Any other thread calling 
SafeRand will be blocked by the while 
statement until the first thread sets the Flag 
variable to zero. But we've written some 
bad code here: that while statement is eat- 
ing up time slices waiting for a previous 
thread to reset the flag. Moreover, we 
haven't been able to get rid of the critical 
section functions. 

With semaphores, you don’t have to 
worry about such stuff, Here’s the sema- 
phore version of SafeRand: 

SafeRand () 

{ 

Btatic long Semaphore ■ 0 ; 
int Returnvalue ; 

DOSSEKREQUEST ((unsigned long) 

(long far *) (Semaphore, -IL) ; 
Returnvalue ■ rand () ; 

DOSSEHCLEAR ((unsigned long) 

(long far *) (Semaphore) ; 
return Returnvalue ; 

> 

The DosSemRequest and DosSemClear 
functions are two of the eight semaphore 
functions supported by OS/2. 

The excessive casting in the DosSem- 
Request and DosSemClear functions is 
necessary becau.se of the inadequate head- 
er files provided with the initial OS/2 Soft- 
ware Development Kit. The function calls 
should really look like this: 

DOSSEMREQUEST ( isemaphore , -1) ; 
and 

DOSSEMCLEAR ({.Semaphore) ; 

The Semaphore variable is initially set 
to zero, which means that it is ’’un- 
owned . ’ ’ When a thread executes DosSeg- 
Request, the semaphore is set to an 
“owned” state. Now if another thread at- 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH! 9. 19 
294 


tempts to call DosSemRequest. the thread 
will be blocked until the semaphore be- 
comes unowned again. During the time the 
thread is blocked, it doesn’t use up any 
time slices. The thread becomes un- 
blocked when the first thread is finished 
with the rand function and calls DosSem- 
Clear. 

This SafeRand function is used in the 
ALPHSOUP program, shown in Figure 2. 
ALPHSOUP creates 26 threads, each of 
which displays a letter (A through Z) on 
the display and moves it around randomly. 
The letters take little random walks around 
the screen or — if you prefer — resemble a 
bowl of alphabet soup during an earth- 
quake. 

OTHER C PROBLEM FUNCTIONS If 

you’d like to ponder the difficulties of re- 
entrant C library functions on your own, 
take a look at strtok . This function has 
to save a pointer that it uses on successive 
calls to the function. Think about two dif- 
ferent threads attempting to divide two dif- 
ferent strings into delimited "tokens” us- 
ing this function. Think about a mess. 

How would such a function be written 
so that it could work with multiple threads? 

It should be obvious that the strtok 
function itself has to determine which 
thread is calling the function and store sep- 
arate static data for each thread. The 
strtok function can obtain the thread ID 
from the DosGetPid function: it would 
then have to allocate memory to store the 
static variable along with some look-up ta- 
bles to match thread IDs to static data asso- 
ciated with each thread. 

The same technique could also be 
adapted for rand so that the function 
maintained separate seeds for each thread. 
If two threads start with the same seed, 
they get the same pseudo-random se- 
quence back from the function. Certainly 
that wouldn’t be appropriate for the 
ALPHSOUP program, though it might be 
good for other applications. 

Now that we’re talking about two mul- 
tiple-thread versions of the rand func- 
tions, you can begin to see why the people 
involved with compiler development at 
Microsoft start to groan when the subject 
of library function reentrancy comes up. 
It’s certainly not as simple as it first 
seems. 

j 8 



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P R () I) i: C T 1 V I I Y 

■ POWER PROGRAMMING ■ RAY DUNCAN 


Demystifying 

THE PRINTF 
FUNCTION 

Printf is one ofC’s most versatile Junctions. Here’s how to use its output formatting 
capabilities and how to call it from programs written in assembly language. 



I n the last issue, I discussed C's soanf 
family of powerful input conversion 
functions. This time. I'll introduce you 
to the corresponding C family of printf 
output formatting functions. Hard-core 
MASM devotees can either enviously read 
through to the end, where I demonstrate 
how to call printf from a MASM appli- 
cation, or they can wait for the next issue, 
in which I'll present some improved 
MASM output formatting routines. 

Although it is considerably more versa- 
tile and powerful, printf is a sort of 
cryptic C equivalent of BASIC's PRINT 
USING. C gurus often put forward 
printfasan example of the richness and 
vitality of the C language, even though it is 
actually a library function (and a highly 
atypical one at that) rather than a language 
element. 

Newcomers to C. on the other hand, are 
often put off by the fact that printf pro- 
gram statements look a bit like alphabet 
.soup. The relatively lengthy and compli- 
cated description of printf in the C run- 
time library manual doesn’t make things 
easier for the novice. In reality, however, 
printf isn’t all that mysterious, and now 
that we have integrated development envi- 
ronments like Turbo C and QuickC, you 
can afford to experiment with print f un- 
til you leam to use it effectively. 

OUTPUT FORMATTING IN C 

Printf, which is the prototype C func- 
tion for output formatting and conversion, 
is used in the form 

Status • printf (fonnat8tring,arg,arg. ) 


The arguments for print f are the address 
of a "format string” and zero, one, or 
more variables, characters, or pointers to 
strings. Printf interprets the format 
string on the fly. building an output string 
by combining the format string's contents 
with the other arguments, and converting 
binary arguments to ASCII where neces- 
sary. 

The resultant string is sent to the stan- 
dard output device (stdout), which is or- 
dinarily the video display. The string can 
be redirected to another character device or 
to a file, however, by using the > or >> 
command line parameters. The "value” 
of the printf function is the number of 
characters that are sent to the standard out- 
put. It’s only fair to note at this point that 
the number returned by print f is typical- 
ly ignored by C programmers, so I will not 
be including the a.ssignmenl (status = ...) 
in subsequent examples. 

You can perform multiple conversions 


B C gurus often put 
forward printf as an 
example of the richness of 
the C language, even 
though it is actually a 
library function. 


of the same or different types with a single 
printf function call. The content of the 
format string is the key to the use of 
printf, and it may consist of three basic 
elements: 

■ Ordinary characters other than the \ 
or%. 

■ Escape sequences: special character 
sequences that begin with the back- 
slash (\) character. 

■ Format specirications: fields that al- 
ways start with a percent sign char- 
acter (%) followed by other charac- 
ters that indicate data types and field 
widths. 

The ordinary characters in the format 
string are simply copied by print f to the 
standard output as they are encountered. 
This allows literal text (messages that do 
not change) to be inserted in the output. 

Escape sequences represent control or 
graphical characters that could not other- 
wise be included in the format string be- 
cause they would confuse the editor and 
compiler. Escape sequences consist of a 
backsla,sh followed by a single character or 
a sequence of digits. Some commonly 
used escape sequences are 

\t alqniflaa tha *tab* character 
\n aignifiea a *new-line* aequanca (a carriaqa 
return followed by a line feed) 

\b alqnlfiaa a 'backapaca* character 
\f alqnifiaa a ‘’forat-fead* character 

To print a literal backsla.sh character on the 
standard output device, you must double 
it; in other words, you must include the se- 
quence 

w 

in the formal string. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
297 


m 

PRODUCTIVITY 

■ POWER PROGRAMMING 


Miscellaneous other special characters 
can be represented with a backslash fol- 
lowed by their octal or hexadecimal val- 
ues. For example, the Escape character 
( 1 BH) can be repre.sented with either \033 
(octal) or \xOIB (hexadecimal). 

When printf encounters a format 
specification in the format string, it at- 
tempts to insert the next argument in its pa- 
rameter list into the output stream accord- 
ing to the format specification, converting 
binary to ASCII as necessary. A format 
specification consists of several mutually 
dependent subfields and takes the form 

*[-][+] [SPACE] [I] [width] [ .precision] 
(r|lll[hil|L]typ8 

[fJofe thtit the format specification has 
been shown on two lines only to fit it into 
the column width. Note, too, that the word 
SPACE, above and subsequently, stands 


C Data Types Used 
in Formatted Output 

Type 

character 

Type of 

Input expected 

d 

Decimal integer 

o 

Octal integer 

X orX 

Hexadecimal integer 

1 

Decimal, octal, or 
hexadecimal integer 

u 

Unsigned decimal 
integer 

e, E, f, g, orG 

Floating-point value 

c 

Single character 

s 

ASCIIZ string (one or 
more characters) 

p 

Pointer in the form 
segmentioffset 

Some of the data types recognized by 
the printf function in Microsoft C, 
Version 5.0; OuickC; and Turbo C. The 
types In this ilst are a superset of the 
ty^s specified in the draft ANSI C 
standard. 


for a single ASCII character space, i.e., 
20h or 32d.—Ed.\ The type is a single 
character that specifies the type of argu- 
ment expected and controls its conversion. 
The available types include characters, 
strings, signed or unsigned decimal, octal, 
and hexadecimal integers, and floating- 
point numbers (see the table "C Data 
Types Used in Formatted Output”). 

The width subfield is a positive integer 
that controls the minimum number of char- 
acters in the formatted field; the field is 
padded with blanks if necessary. If 
the - modifier is present in the format 
specification, the formatted string is left- 
justified in the field of width characters; 
otherwise, it is right-justified in the field. 
When the width value begins with a 0, nu- 
meric types are padded with leading zeros 
instead of blanks to fill the field (not useful 
for left-justified fields, obviously). If a 
converted value is too large to fit in a field 
of width characters, the complete value is 
always displayed. 

Precision controls the number of digits 
formatted after the decimal point for float- 
ing-point numbers. If precision is used 
with an integer type, it has the same gener- 
al effect as width, except that the field is al- 
ways padded with leading zeros and num- 
bers will be tmneated if necessary to fit 
within the specified number of characters. 

The -I- and SPACE modifiers affect 
the formatting of signs on numeric types. 
If -f is present, a signed number will be 
prefixed with a -I- or — character, as ap- 
propriate. If SPACE is present, the output 
value is prefixed with a blank if it is posi- 
tive; a SPACE is overriden by a -I- modi- 
fier if both are present. If neither modifier 
is present, a — is prefixed to negative 
numbers, but nothing is prefixed to posi- 
tive numbers. 

The action of the # modifier depends 
on the data type. When used with an octal 
or hexadecimal integer, the output is pre- 
fixed with a 0. Ox, or OX. When used with 
a floating-point number, it forces a deci- 
mal point to be included in the output in all 
cases, and (for the g or G formats) it pre- 
vents truncation of trailing zeros. 

The optional F or N modifiers indicate 
that the corresponding pointer in the argu- 
ment list refers to a “far" or “near" data 
object. The I, L, or h modifiers indicate 
that the data object is “long" or “short.” 


■ Although present in 
Microsoft C 5.0, the F and 
N modifiers are not part 
of the ANSI draft 
standard and should be 
avoided when portability 
is a consideration. 


Although present in Microsoft C 5 .0, the F 
and N modifiers are not part of the ANSI 
draft standard and should be avoided when 
portability is a consideration. 

Under normal circumstances, you are 
not likely to need any of the printf mod- 
ifiers except I, which displays 32-bit deci- 
mal and hexadecimal integers, which is es- 
pecially useful when debugging a 
program. The -I- , SPACE, #, F. N, L, and 
h modifiers are infrequently used, and you 
can safely ignore them for the present. 

USING PRINTF The simplest use of 
printf is with no arguments other than 
the format string itself: 

printf ("This is a test"); 

This is not so different from the puts func- 
tion, except that puts always adds a new- 
line to the end of the string being output- 
ted. whereas printf sends a newline 
only if you include the escape .sequence \n 
in the format string. 

Next, let's consider the most popular 
application of printf: displaying the 
contents of a variable together with some 
explanatory text. 

int X * -1; 

printf("The value of x is %d*', x); 
This results in the following display: 

The value of x is -1 

As you can see, print f simply copies all 
of the characters up to the % sign in the for- 
mat string to the standard output. The %d 
format specification tells printf that the 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
298 


PRODUCTIvnY 


Stack also contains an int binary argument 
for output. Print f therefore converts the 
next stack item to an ASCII string and dis- 
plays it. The width, precision, and other 
modifiers are not present, so print f 
doesn’t attempt to pad, right-justify, or 
limit the width of the numeric field. 

Since printf knows about strings and 
characters in addition to binary numbers, I 
could have also coded the above example 
thus: 

int X - -1; 

printf ("%s %d'', 'The value of x is", x); 

The output would be identical. For that 
matter, I could have explicitly passed the 
strings as pointers, like this: 

int X = -1; 
char *p,*q; 
p="%s %d"; 

q="The value of x is"; 
printf (p,q,x) ; 

From this last example, you can begin to 
appreciate the true richness of printf, 
part of which lies in the fact that the format 
string need not be completely determined 
at compile-time. The application program 
can use C's string functions (such as 
strcat, strspn. and strstr) to build 
up a format string at runtime. This allows 
you to deal with data whose range, size, 
and type can't be predicted in advance. 

Figure I contains a slightly more com- 
plicated example in the fonn of a little pro- 
gram named ITDEMO.C. Here, printf 
is used to format a pretty table of floating- 
point numbers. Type in the program, com- 
pile it, and run it, and then compare the 
output with the format strings used in the 
various calls to printf. Once you’ve 
puzzled out the correspondence between 
FPDEMO.C’s source code and its behav- 
ior, you’ll be well on your way to putting 
p r i n t f to work in your own programs . 

The printf function also has a num- 
ber of cousins that are useful in special sit- 
uations (see the table "Printf and Related 
Functions”). These related functions work 
in the same general way, save that they ac- 
cept arguments from an array or send their 
output to a file or as an ASCIIZ string. 
Once you’ve mastered the basic print f , 
you’ll have no problem with its more-so- 
phisticated relatives. 

There are many subtle points associated 


with printf format specifications that I 
have not touched on in this brief overview. 
Most C rantime library manuals devote 
many pages to this function, and it is worth 
your time to read the printf entry care- 
fully. Printf has been honed and refined 
through many years of use to meet almost 
every conceivable formatting need: you 
can realize its full potential only with study 
and practice. 

DEBl;GGI^G PRINTF CALLS You 

may have noticed that it is only by decod- 
ing the format string that printf knows 
how many arguments it has (or should 
have) been passed. In this respect, 
printf (like soanf) is an aberration in 
the otherwise orderly world of the C run- 
time library, whose functions typically re- 
quire a fixed number of arguments. 

P r i n t f also has no way to tell whether 
the arguments that follow the format string 
are the appropriate types for the corre- 
sponding format specifications. It simply 
does the best it can with the things it finds 
on the stack. This can lead to some un- 
pleasantly interesting results. If, for exam- 
ple, printf thinks a floating-point num- 
ber is a string (or vice versa), you will 
probably see little blinking happy faces 
and other novelties on your screen where 


■ Ifprintf thinks a 
floating-point number is a 
string, you will see happy 
faces on your screen 
where you were expecting 
to see something a little 
more intelligible. 


you were expecting to see something a lit- 
tle more intelligible. 

The printf function’s ability to han- 
dle variable numbers and types of argu- 
ments has an unfortunate corollary: the C 
compiler rarely gives you any help with 
printf problems. Since the format string 
is either a literal or a pointer, the compiler 
doesn’t look at it; it simply assumes that 
you know what you are doing. If you pass 
printf too few or the wrong types of ar- 
guments for the format string, the compiler 
performs its job without comment, but the 


Printf and Related Functions 

Function 

Definition 

printf 

Accepts a pointer to a format string and zero, one, or more binary 
values, characters, or pointef? to strings. Formats an output 
string and sends it to the standard output device (stdout). 

fprintf 

Like printf. but sends the output to the specified file or device. 

sprintf 

Like printf. but places the output string in the specified 
character array. 

vprintf 

Like printf. but accepts a pointer to a list or array of arguments, 
rather than the arguments themselves. 

vfprintf 

Like vprintf, but sends its output to the specified file or device. 

vsprintf 

Like vprintf, but places the output string in a character array. 

Any of these similar functions can be used to output formatted strings in C. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
299 


I> R O D U C T I V I I Y 


■ POWER PROGRAMMING 


output of your program will then be incor- 
rect. 

Fortunately, printf problems are 
usually easy to diagnose and fix. Mis- 
matching of data types will lead to glaring- 


ly obvious gibberish in your program’s 
output. And, unlike scanf, printf 
doesn't alter the values of variables, so it 
doesn’t ordinarily cause program crashes 
when you use it incorrectly. 


CALLING PRINTF DM MASM If you 

own a C compiler, have a de.sperate need 
forprintf’scapabilities in a MASM ap- 
plication. and have no inclination to write 
your own equivalent routine, you can al- 
ways take the easy way out and simply link 
printf right into your program. This 
isn’t terribly memory-efficient, since 
printf will cascade all sorts of support- 
ing functions into your program from the C 
runtime library, but sometimes it can be a 
big timesaver. 

Figure 2 contains another little demon- 
stration program, CALLPRTF.ASM, 
which illustrates a MASM call to printf 
to format and display both a string and a 
16-bit integer. Note that print f’s param- 
eters are pushed onto the stack from right 
to left (in terms of the way the call would 
be written as a C program statement). In 
other words, the last argument is pushed 
first, the next-to-last argument is pushed 
second, and so on, and the address of the 
format string is pushed last. Also, the 
name of the external printf function 
must be prefixed by an underscore charac- 
ter (_) (the C compiler al.so does this, but it 
is invisible to the programmer). 

The declaration of the external symbol 
—acrtused forces the C startup code. 


/* 


fpdemo.c demonstratea use 

pretty taUDles of 
PC Magazine -> Ray Duncan 

*/ 

linclude <8tdio.h> 
iinclude <8tdllb.h> 

maln(int argc, char *argv[]) 

{ 

int ipj; 

of printf to format 
floating point numbers 

/* some integer variables */ 

double f; 

/* floating point variable */ 

printf {*\n\nprintf floating point demo\n\n\t*' ) ; 

for(i»l; i<U; i++) 

/* print column numbers */ 

printf {"%7d'*, i); 


for(i»l; i<21; i++) 

{ printf ( "\n%2d\t’', i)j 

/* print row numbers */ 

for(j»l; j<ll; j++) 

( f> (double) j / (double) i; 

/* type cast and divide */ 

printf (■%?. 3f" , f)j 

> 

> 

) 

/* display results */ 


Figure 1 : A short C program that demonstrates some of the formatting power of the printf 
function. 



nans 

callprtf 



mov 

ax,-l 

; integer: -1 


page 

55,132 



push 

ax 



title 

'CALLPRTF — 

- MASM call to printf' 




; address of message string 

: CAIXPRTF.ASM 

— deBionstrates 

call to printf 


mov 

ax, offset 

DGROUPimsgstr 



from a MASK 

application 


push 

ax 


; by Ray Duncan 

November 1987 





; address of format string 






mov 

ax, offset 

DGROUP: fmtstr 

cr 

equ 

0dh 

; ASCII carriage return 


push 

ax 


if 

equ 

0ah 

; ASCII line feed 


call 

_printf 

; call C library function 


extrn 

acrtusedsabs 

; drag in C startup code 









add 

sp, 6 

; clean up stack 

DGROUP 

group 

_DATA 



atov 

ax,4c00h 

f now exit with 






int 

21b 

; return code •• 0 

TEXT 

segment 

word public ’ CODE ’ 









main 

endp 




assume 

CSJ TEXT, da t DGROUP 









TEXT 

ends 




extrn 

_printf inear 

; drag in printf from the 
} C library, and its 








; dependent routines 

_DATA 

segment 

word public 'DATA' 


public 

main 


msgstr 

db 

'The value of x is', 8 ; message string 

_^aiain 

proc 

near 

; entered from c startup... 

fmtstr 

db 

cr,lf, '%s 

%d',cr,lf,0 ; format string 


mov 

ax, DGROUP 

; make our data segment 






mov 

d8,ax 

; addressable 

_DATA 

ends 






; push arguments for printf 


end 




Figure 2; This assembler program shows the techniques needed to access the C function print f /« assembly code. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. IVSK 

.100 


p R c) D u c r I V n Y 


■ Fortunately , p r i n t f 
problems are usually easy 
to diagnose and fix. 
Mismatching of data types 
will lead to glaringly 
obvious gibberish in your 
program’s output. 


which initially receives control from MS- 
DOS, to be linked into the program. This 
is a "magic” name and may differ from 
compiler to compiler (or even from version 
to version of the same compiler). The start- 
up code sets up the stack and DS register 
and then transfers control to our MASM 
routine _main, which is declared public so 
that it is visible to the Linker. 

To assemble CALLPRTF.ASM into 
the file CALLPRTF.OBJ, use 

MASM /MX CALLPRTF; 

The /Mx switch causes case distinctions to 
be preserved in public and external names 
(since C is case-sensitive). Then, to link 
CALLPRTF.OBJ with the Microsoft C 
5.0 runtime libraries to create the execut- 
able file CALLPRTF.EXE, you enter 

LINK CALLPRTF, , , SLIBC-TLIBH; 

If you are using Turbo C or an earlier ver- 
sion of Microsoft C, the LINK command 
may be somewhat different, but the gener- 
al procedure should be the same. If your 
MASM program performs floating-point 
operations or formats floating-point num- 
bers for output, you must also specify the 
appropriate floating-point libraries in the 
LINK command. 

TME IN-BOX Comments and sugges- 
tions about this column from PC readers 
are welcome! You can contact me by the 
following e-mail routes: 

BIX: tduncan 

CompuServe: 72406, 1 577 ® 



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PRODUCTIVITY 


■ DOUGLAS COBB AND STEVEN COBB 


Spreadsheet 

\V-\ 

/A ^ \ 

(A .v A 

CLINIC 


Avoiding @AVG miscalculatiom; autotnatically sizing columns to match their label 

requirements; adding missing edit functions; better ways to stop autoexec macro execution. 


WIDENING l-W COLUMNS 
I often need to widen a column just enough 
to allow the longest label in that column to 
be displayed in full form. After getting 
tired of doing this manually. 1 developed 
the macro shown in Figure 1 . Now, when- 
ever I need to widen a column to accom- 
mcxlatc its widest label. 1 simply invoke 
the macro and highlight the cells on which 
I want to base the column width. In a few 
seconds, 1-2-3 expands (or contracts) the 
width of the column so that it is as wide as 
the cells I have highlighted. 

Felipe Quental 

Rio de Janeiro. Brazil 

Mr. Quenial's macro is both elegant and 
useful, so it tnay he worth detailing the 
steps in its operation. The first statement in 
his macro lets you highlight the cells to es- 
tablish the column width and assigns the 
name RANGE to that range. The second 
statement freezes the screen for the re- 
mainder of the e.xecution of the macro, and 
the third .statement moves the cell pointer 
to the topmo.st cell of the single-column 
range you've specified. The fourth .state- 
ment places the value 0 in the cell named 
LENGTH I (cell B 16). 

The fifth .statement in this macro tells 
1-2-3 to execute the subroutine named 
MEASURE (cells BW..Bt3) as many 
times as there are rows in the specified 
range. The first .statement in MYSORE 
tests to see if the entry in the current cell 
(originally, the topmost cell in the range 
you specified) contains a label. If not, it 
moves the cell pointer down one cell and 
begins another pass through the Uwp. If 


the cell does contain a label, the macro 
continues with the subroutine, executing 
the statements in cells Bl I ..B 13. 

The statement in cell Bl I instructs 
I -2-3 to recalculate the string formula in 
the cell named NEXT— the ne.xt cell in the 
macro. The formula 

+"{Let LENGTH2,0LENGTH( - 
&@CELLPOINTER ( “ address " )&")}" 

returns a [Let] .statement that commands 
1-2-3 to place the length of the entry in the 
current cell into the cell named LENGTH2 
(B17). The final statement in the subrou- 
tine commands 1-2-3 to place into 
LENGTHI (cell B16) the value in 
LENGTH I (the length of the entry in the 
previous cell) or the value in LENGTH2 
(the length of the entry in the current cell), 
whichever is greater. 


1 -2-3 continues in this fashion to make 
one pass through the loop for each cell in 
the range you specified. After the final 
pass, LENGTHI will contain the length of 
the longest label in the range. At that 
point, 1-2-3 will return to the main fxtrt of 
the tnacro and execute the statements in 
cells B6..B8. The .statement in cell B6 
places the string equivalent of the value in 
LENGTHI (the length of the longest label 
in the range) into the cell named STRING 
(BIS). The statement in cell B7 then sets 
the width of the column to that length, after 
which the final statement in the macro un- 
freezes the screen. 


(aAVGTRAP 

I recently discovered a property of the 
(a'AVG (function of which other 1-2-3 us- 
ers should be aware. When 1-2-3 caicu- 



A 

B C 

' 

\w 

/rncRANGE7{?}' 

2 

{WindowsOf f } (Panelof f } 

3 


{GotO}RANGE~ 

4 


{Let LENGTHI, 0} 

S 


{For COUNTER, 1 , GROWS ( RANGE ) , 1 , MEASURE) 

6 


{Let STRING, GSTRING(LENGTH1,0) } 

7 


/wc*{STRlNG>" 

8 


{WindoweOn} (PanelOn) 

le 

MEASURE 

{If eCELLPOINTER( “type" )<>“1“ ) {Down) {Return) 

11 


{Recalc NEXT) 

12 

NEXT 

+“ {Let LENGTH2 , 0LENGTH ( -60CELLPOINTER( "address: ) 4 " ) ) " 

13 

14 


{Let LENGTHI , GMAX( LENGTHI , LENGTH2 ) ) {Down} 

15 

COUNTER 


16 

LENGTHI 


17 

LENGTH2 


18 

STRING 



Rgure 1 : This macro widens or tightens a column just enough to allow the longest label in that 
column to he displayed in full form . 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
303 



■ SPREADSHEET CLINIC 


PRODUCTIVITY 


■ Instead of using an 
@AVG function, use an 
@DAVG function that 
references a criterion. 


lates an @AVG function, it computes the 
sum of the values in the range you specify, 
counts the number of entries in that range, 
and divides the sum by the count. 

Unfortunately, 1-2-3 doesn’t count just 
the values in the range — it counts the la- 
bels as well. Consequently, if the range on 
which the @AVG function is operating 
contains labels as well as values, the count 
will be erroneously high, and the average 
will be too low. 

To demonstrate this effect. I’ll use the 
worksheet shown in Figure 2. Cells 
A2..A6 contain values, and cell A7 con- 
tains the label ’ . Given these en- 

tries, the function @AVG(A2. . A6) would 
return the value 300, the result of dividing 
the sum of these values (1,500) by the 
number of entries in the range (5). But the 
function (®AVG(A2..A7), which refer- 
ences the label in cell A7 in addition to the 
values in cells A2..A6, returns the value 
250, the result of dividing the sum (still 
1 ,5(X)) by the new count (6). 

Fortunately, there is a way around this 
problem . Instead of using an @A VG func- 
tion to calculate the average, use an 
(ffiDAVG function that references a criteri- 
on range containing the criterion 

ecELL ( " ty pe ” , X.)f ) = •• V" 


where XX is the address of the first cell of 
the range you want to average. For exam- 



A 

B 

1 

Amount 


2 

100 


3 

200 


4 

300 


5 

400 


6 

500 


7 



8 

250 



Figure 2; Cell A8 in this worksheet contains the 
Junction lscAVGlA2..A7). 


P C 


pie, to calculate the correct average of the 
entries in cells A1..A7 of the worksheet 
shown in Figure 2, you would copy the la- 
bel ’Amount from cell A 1 into another cell 
(say, cell Cl ). Then, using A2 for XX, you 
would enter the criterion function into the 
cell immediately below — in this case, cell 
C2. After setting up this criterion range, 
you could use the function 

@DAVG(A1. .A7,0,Cl. .C2) 

to calculate the average. Since the criterion 
commands / -2-3 to work only with cells 
that contain values, this function returns 
the value 300 — the correct average. 

Brent R. Avera 

Fort Myers, Florida 

This is a clever solution to a long-standing 
problem with 1-2-3. For the method to 
work, of course, there must be a label at 
the lop of the column whose values you are 
averaging to serve as its field name. 


STOPPING AUTOEXEC MACROS 

The December 8, 1987, Spreadsheet Clin- 
ic showed a number of ways to keep an au- 
toexec macro from executing when you re- 
trieve the worksheet that contains it. But it 
did not mention the technique that I have 
found most useful. At the beginning of my 
auto-executing macros, I use the routine 
shown in Figure 3. 

The first statement in this routine types 
the prompt message on the Edit line, but 
does not lock it into the worksheet. If you 
hit a key during the pause, 1-2-3 will store 
it in its keyboard buffer. The prompt is 


then cleared, and the fourth statement in 
the macro tells 1-2-3 to look to the key- 
board buffer. If you typed a character dur- 
ing the pause, 1-2-3 will place a represen- 
tation of that character into a cell named 
KEY, which you should include near the 
end of your macro. If you didn’t type any- 
thing, 1-2-3 will entera null label. 

The fifth statement in the macro exam- 
ines the contents of KEY. If KEY contains 
a null label, 1-2-3 will execute the remain- 
der of the macro, which should immedi- 
ately follow this macro-canceling routine. 
If KEY contains a label other than a null la- 
bel (indicating that you pressed a key dur- 
ing the pause), 1-2-3 will remove the key 
from the keyboard buffer and cancel the 
execution of the macro. 

You can shorten or lengthen the dura- 
tion of the pause simply by changing the 
argument of the {Wait} statement. If you 
do, just alter the prompt to match. 

Mark Crane 

Louisville, Kentucky 

Mr. Crane's technique is a classic use of 
1-2-3’s {Look) command. A {Look} com- 
mand is perfect here because it allows the 
macro to continue unless you specify oth- 
erwise, rather than not executing unless 
you instruct it to do so. 

The only problem with this macro is 
that it doesn't cancel the macro as soon as 
the user presses a key. Instead, it waits un- 
til the end of the pause to check the key- 
board buffer. The revised routine shown in 
Figure 4 takes care of this minor annoy- 
ance by locating the {Look] command 


\» 

To cancel this macro, press any key within 5 seconds... 
{Wait dNOW-fGTIMEiBfBfS)) 

{Esc) 

{Look KEY) 

{If KEY<>’'-){Get KEY}{Cuit> 

Remainder of macro.... 

Figure 3: This routine gives you 5 seconds to prevent the execution of an auto-executing macro. 

\0 

LOOP 

{Let START, @NOW) 

To cancel this macro, press any key within 5 seconds... 
{Look KEY) 

{If KEY<>""){Get KEY) {Esc) {Quit) 

{If eNOW<sSTART-f0TIME( 0,0, 5)) {Branch LOOP) 

{ESC) 

Remainder of macro... 

Figure 4: This revision of the routine shown in Figure 3 stops the execution of the macro as soon 


as you press a key. 

MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
304 


P R O D U (■ T 1 V I I Y 



A 

B C 

1 

\a 

<Bdit){7)' 

2 

LOOP 

(C«tNumber "Ent«r Rdit type (l-3}i ".TypE} 

3 


(If Typ^<l«OR0TypE>3}(B««p) (Branch LOOP) 

4 


(Laft) 

S 


(Lat HERE. 0INDEX|TABLE,0. TYPE)) 

6 

HERE 

7 


/rV(Right}" 

0 


/ra* 

10 

11 

12 

TYPE 


TABLE 

'PLErTt (Right ),(»PIND("*", (Right).!) )' 

n 


•0RICHT( (Right) ,0LENOTH( (Right) )-0riND("»", (Right) . 0 »-l )" 



•0LErr( (Right) .CiriNO(-*“, (Right). 0) ) 

' 69RIOHT( (Right ),0LENCTH( (Right )) -0riNO (-♦”.( Right ). 0 ) -1 ) “ 


Figure 5: This macro adds htock-ediiing features. CellBI4 is shown broken into two lines. 


within a loop. Consequently. 1-2-3 exe- 
cutes it many times and will cancel the exe- 
cution as soon as you press a key. 


AN EDITING MACRO 

The macro shown in Figure 5 adds three 
editing features not normally available in 
1-2-3. First, it can delete the characters to 
the right of the point you specify within an 
entry. Second, it can delete the characters 
to the left of that point. Finally, it can re- 
move the characters between any two 
points you specify. 

Before invoking the macro, you should 
position the cell pointer on the cell that 
contains the label you want to edit. The 
first statement in the macro brings that la- 
bel to the Edit line and pauses for you to in- 
sert the appropriate block marker symbols. 
To delete characters from a certain point to 
the beginning or end of the label, you 
should insert an * (asterisk) marker at that 
point. To remove a block of text from the 
middle of the label, insert an * at the begin- 
ning of the block and a -H (plus) at the end. 

When you have inserted the appropriate 
marker(s) and pressed Enter, you’re 
prompted for the number that corresponds 
to the type of edit you want to perform. En- 
tering I will delete all the characters to the 
right of the * marker; 2 knocks out the 
characters to the left of the cursor; and 3 
chops out the portion of the label between 
the * and + markers. Just press Enter after 
typing the appropriate value. 

The fourth statement in the macro 
moves the cell pointer one cell to the left. 
This cell should be blank. The next state- 
ment places the label form of the formula 
corresponding to your choice of editing 
type from the three-cell range named IN- 
DEX (in this case, cells B 1 2. . B 1 4) into the 


cell named HERE (the next cell of the 
macro). When 1-2-3 executes the cell 
named HERE, it enters the label form of 
the formula in that cell into the cell where 
the pointer is positioned. (This will be the 
cell to the left of the one you are editing.) 
The formula returns the desired substring 


■ This editing macro 
demonstrates a clever 
use of 1-2-3's string 
functions and @INDEX. 

and the macro continues by copying that 
over the original label. The final statement 
in the macro erases the formula. 

Richard Ruiz 
Toronto, Ontario 
Canada 

Mr. Ruiz's macro demonstrates a clever 
use of 1 -2-3' s string functions and its 
(a INDEX function. In most cases, howev- 
er. it would he easier to use the Backspace 1 
and Del keys to edit labels. I 


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plea.se include a printout. Mail your contri- 
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USER-TO-USER 



Cutting away spaghetti code from batch files; outputting numbers and control characters 
from the command line; and an easy way to switch subdirectories and save keystrokes. 


CREATING SMALL FILES 

Did you ever want to send just a few eon- 
Irol characters to your printer? Or create a 
small file to use as input to another pnv 
gram? And did you ever want to do these 
things from within a batch file, without op- 
erator intervention? Most text editors 
won't handle control characters. Some can 
be coaxed into running themselves 
(through the u.se of macros), but using 
them to create a file a few bytes long is like 
using a pile driver to pound in a carpet 
tack — effective, but excessively time-con- 
suming when setup time is considered. Us- 
ing BASIC or DEBUG is not much better. 

The small ONCL.COM program creat- 
ed by the ONCL.ASM li.sting in Figure I 
or the ONCL.BAS program in Figure 2 
does all these things very well. Just type 
ONCL followed by the decimal values for 
the desired characters. The utility sends the 
characters to the standard output, from 
which they can be redirected to a file, an 
output device, or another program. 

For example, to configure my printer to 
its elite pitch. 1 can type 

ONCL 27 77 27 126 1 >PRN 

Then to get it back to its default configura- j 
tion, I can type 

ONCL 27 126 0 27 80 >PRN 

The utility can also be used to make small 
files containing control characters. If the 
characters won't fit on the command line, 
the utility can be called repeatedly, using 
the double bracket to append the output to 
the previous results. For example. Figure i 
shows the utility making a copy of itself. If I Figure 1 : ONCL.ASM source coele. Assemble. Link, then EXE2BIN ii lo produce ONCL.COM . 

PC' MAGAZINK ■ MARCH 2 9.19X8 
307 


; Output nunbers from coonnand line 


; by Philip J. 

ErdeleXy 



CODE 

SEGMENT 




ASSUME 

CS:CODE 



ORG 

100B 


MAIN 

PROC 

NEAR 



MOV 

81, 81H 

pointer to command line 

MAIN LOOP] 

CLO 


clear direction flag 


LOOSB 


get next character 


CMP 

AL, 13 

carriage ret ends command line 


JZ 

MAIN EXIT 



CALL 

IS DIGIT 

is the character a digit? 


JC 

MAIN LOOP 

if not, keep scanning 


MOV 

DL,AL 

if so, DL • numeric value 

NUMBER LOOP: 

LODSB 


get next character 


CALL 

IS DIGIT 

is the character a digit? 


JC 

OUTPUT 

if not, go output byte in OL 


ADD 

0L,DL 

otheirwise DL > 10 * OL al 


ADD 

AL,DL 



ADD 

DL,DL 



ADD 

DL,DL 



ADD 

DL,AL 



JMP 

NUMBER LOOP 

continue scanning number 

OUTPUT: 

PUSH 

DX 

push byte to stack 


MOV 

BX,1 

standard output handle 


MOV 

DX.SP 

one-byte buffer is on stack 


MOV 

CX,1 

character count is one 


MOV 

AH, 40H 

DOS file output 


INT 

21R 



POP 

OX 

restore stack 


DEC 

SI 

decrement pointer 


JMP 

MAIM LOOP 

keep going 

MAIN_EXITJ 

RET 



MAIN 

ENDP 



t convert an ASCII digit (48 

-57) into the correeponding numeric value 

; (0-9), and return with the 

carry flag set if the ASCll character is 

; not a digit 




IS DIGIT 

PROC 

NEAR 



SUB 

AL, '0' 

convert to numeric value 


JC 

IS DIGIT EXIT 

carry set if char < '0' 


MOV 

AH, 9 



CMP 

AH,AL 

carry set if number > 9 

IS DIGIT EXIT: 

RET 



I8_DIGIT BNDP 




CODE 

ENDS 




END 

MAIM 





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PRODUCTIVITY 

■ USER-TO-USER 


100 ' ONCL.BAS program to create ONCL.COH — Philip J. Erdelsky 
110 E=13:CLS:PRINT "Checking DATA; please wait..." 

120 FOR B=1 TO 4:FOR C=1 TO 16:READ A$ :T=T+VAL< "iH-tAS ) !NEXT 

130 READ SsIF SOT THEN PRINT "ERROR IN LINE" ; B*10+l 80 : END 

140 T=0 ;NEXT:RESTORE:OPEN "ONCL.COH" AS tl LEH=1 

150 FIELD #1,1 AS D$lFOR B-1 TO 4SFOR C=1 TO ISlREAD AS 

160 LSET DS“CHR$(VAL("6H"+A$) ) :PUT ll:IF B=4 AND C=E THEN 180 

170 NEXT; READ F$:NEXT 

180 CLOSE: PRINT "ONCL.COH CREATED" 

190 DATA BE,81,00,FC,AC,3C,0D,74,2A,E8,28,00,72,F5,8A,D0,1951 
200 DATA AC,E8,20,00,72,0C,02,D2,02,C2,02,D2,02,D2,02,D0,ie04 
210 DATA EB,EE,S2,BB,01,00,8B,D4,B9,01,00,B4,40,CD,21,5A,1852 
220 DATA 4E,EB,D0,.C3,2C,30,72,04,B4,09,3A,E0,C3,00,00,00,1S92 


Figure 2: BASIC ONCL.BAS program w create ONCL.COM. 


ONCL 190 129 0 252 172 60 13 116 42 >ONCL2.COM 
ONCL 232 40 0 114 245 138 208 172 »ONCL2.COH 
ONCL 232 32 0 114 12 2 210 2 194 2 »ONCL2.COM 

ONCL 210 2 210 2 208 235 238 82 187 »ONCL2.COM 

ONCL 1 0 139 212 185 1 0 180 64 205 »ONCL2.COM 

ONCL 33 90 78 235 208 195 44 48 114 »ONCL2.COH 

ONCL 4 180 9 58 224 195 »ONCL2.COM 


Rgure 3: ONCL.COM can make a copy of itself using these lines of code. 


you don’t redirect the output, it will go to 
the screen. For example, the command 
line 

ONCL 7 

will make the console beep. You might 
want to put this at the end of a long batch 
file so the computer will call you when it’s 
done. 

Power users may wonder why I used 
DOS function 40 to output a single byte, 
when it would have been much simpler to 
do it with DOS function 02 (which sends 
the contents of DL to standard output). The 
reason is that DOS function 02 does some 
meddlesome things like expanding tabs. 

Philip J. Erdelsky 
San Diego, California 

This is also useful for generating ANSI Es- 
cape sequences. If you have ANSI loaded 
(with a DEVICE^ANSI .SYS line in your 
CONFIG.SYS file), you can run com- 
mands like 

ONCL 27 91 51 55 59 52 52 109 

to set the colors to blue text on a white 
background, or 

ONCL 27 91 51 52 59 52 55 109 

to set them to white text on a blue back- 


ground, or 
ONCL 27 91 74 

to clear the screen to those colors. This 
works because 

ONCL 27 91 51 55 59 52 52 109 

I I I I I I I I 

ESC [ 3 7 ; 4 4 m 

char- 
acter 

and the command to set colors to white on 
blue is ESC ( the ASCII 2 7 Escape charac- 
ter) plus [37 :44m. 

This can also come in handy when 
you're trying to create a .COM file and all 
you have is a list of DATA statements in a 
BASIC program. If the list is made up of 
hex numbers, you can use the DEBUG E 
command to enter them directly. But if the 
numbers in the DATA statements are deci- 
mal, try adapting the technique Mr. Er- 
delsky used to create the ONCL.COM pro- 
gram itself. 


BATCH BRANCHING SHORTCUTS 
Much has been written about ways to get 
around DOS's inability to treat direct calls 
to batch programs the same way it handles 
other executable commands from within 
batch flies — as subroutines. By now most 
users are familiar with the wav to call an- 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
308 





PRODUCTIVITY 


■ USER-TO-USER 


other batch file by first loading a secondary 
command processor (with COMMAND 
/C) to ran the second batch file and then re- 
turn to the first. DOS 3.3 has made things 
even easier by adding a CALL command 
to turn batch branches into subroutines. 

However, calls to executable programs 
and system commands always act as sub- 


■ Branching can be time- 
consuming and confusing 
to edit. Capitalize 
on DOS’s absolute 
branching feature. 

routine calls, returning processing to the 
next line in the batch file. Many times it’s 
necessary for a batch file to branch to one 
other command after an IF test and then 
exit. This is usually done with a cumber- 
some and clutter-producing GOTO com- 
mand that branches to another part of the 
batch program, runs the desired com- 
mand, and then branches again to a com- 
mon exit point, such as a final line called 
:END. 

All this branching, especially in long 
batch programs, can be time-consuming 
and confusing to edit. A quick alternative 
is to capitalize on DOS's absolute branch- 
ing feature by calling a batch file that sim- 
ply runs a program or an internal DOS 
command and then quits. The DO.BAT 
batch file that can accomplish this for you 
consists of just one line: 

e%l %2 %3 %4 

(The initial @ will prevent the line from 
displaying and works only in Version 3.3 
or later. Omit it if you’re using an older 
version of DOS.) 

This is a very fast approach, especially 
when a RAM drive is used. Typically, an 
IF test (or ERRORLEVEL check after an 
input-capturing routine such as GETKEY 
.COM) branches to an executable DOS 
command or .COM or .EXE program and 
then quits. 

Here’s a very simple example of DO 


.BAT used in a program called #.BAT, 
which displays either a selected phone 
number or your entire phone list, depend- 
ing on whether you specify a parameter 
when you run it. So 

# Nixon 
or 

# ( 212 ) 

would find all listings with Nixon or (2 1 2) 
in them, while 

* 

by itself would display the entire list. The 
batch file looks like 

0ECHO OFF 
REM I . BAT 

IF %1I«I DO BROWSE C:\DATA\PHONE.DAT 
FIND -%1" C:\DATA\FHONE.DAT 

It uses Charles Petzold’s PC Magazine 
utility BROWSE. The usefulness of DO 
.BAT can be seen when you consider how 
it might clean up multiple GOTO branch- 
ing in a long, involved batch file, not to 
mention always being available as a com- 
mand for all other batch files in your sys- 
tem. Without the use of IX). BAT, the 
original batch file would have been written 
like this: 

@ECHO OFF 
REM #.BAT 

IF ” %!"==••" GOTO SEELIST 
FIND "%1" C:\DATA\PH0NE.DAT 
GOTO END 
: SEELIST 

BROWSE C:\DATA\PH0NE.DAT 
:END 

I also keep two other speedy RAMdisk- 
ready batch files handy — ABORT.BAT 
and COMPLETE.BAT — that can branch 
absolutely. These will quickly quit any 
batch file after an IF check, with the option 
of including a message: 

REK ABORT.BAT 

IF NOT %lt — I ECHO \\ %2 %3 «4 «S %6 %7 t8 %9 
ECHO Operation aborted. 

REH C0KPLETE.8AT 

IF NOT ECHO «1 %2 %3 %4 tS 44 47 48 49 

ECHO Oparatlon coDplatad. 

These will let you have a line like this in 
your program: 

IF HOT EXIST ABC ABORT ABC not found. 

If ABC is not found, the batch file will quit 
without any GOTOs and these lines will be 
displayed: 


ABC not found, 
operation aborted. 

If the words after ABORT had been omit- 
ted. then the only closing message would 
be "Operation alxirted.” 

John A. Hamlin 
Portland. Oregon 

You can combine the two techniques into 
one big # .BAT batch file: 

0ECHO OFF 
REH I.BAT 

IF NOT EXIST ABC ABORT ABC not found. 
IF tlt«l DO BROWSE Ct\DATA\FKOHE.DAT 
FIND "%I" Cj\DATA\PHONE.DAT 

In this case, whether or not you type any- 
thing after the #, the program simply 
won't proceed if ABC isn’t on your disk. If 
you create a dummy ABC file (which con- 
tains just the word REM ). the program will 
bypass this test and look up numbers with 
aplomb. If you erase the ABC file, all 
you'll get is an 

ABC not found. 

Operation aborted. 

message and the #.BAT file will grind to a 
halt. 

Incidentally, these examples assume 
that you have a list of vour phone numbers 
called PHONE. DAT in your C:\DATA di- 
rectory and that this file is in a form (each 


■ The usefulness of 
DO. BAT can be seen when 
you consider how it might 
clean up multiple GOTO 
branching in a long, 
involved batch file. 


entry on one line with a carriage return at 
the end of it) that FIND can handle. 


HEADING HOME 

Here's an addition I made to a batch file 
called HOME.BAT from an earlier User- 
lo-User (December 9, 1986). Ifyouspeci- 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
309 







y. 


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PRODUCTIVITY 

■ USER-TO-USER 


fy a path after the word HOME, it will set 
the environment variable HOMEDIR to 
the path and change to that directory for 
you. 

ECHO OFF 

IF GOTO CHANGE 

SET HOMEDIR»%l 
: CHANGE 

IF NOT %HOMEDIR%l*»I CD %HOMEDIR% 

Joseph Gagliardo, Jr. 
Dumfries, Virginia 

Havinfi a batch file automatically store a 
path in the environment and then read it 
hack later makes g(HKl sense. Even better, 


■ Having a batch file 
automatically store a path 
in the environment and 
read it back later makes it 
easy to either return to the 
' preset subdirectory or 
switch into a new one. 


this simple hatch fde makes it easy to either 
return to the preset subdirectory or switch 
into a new one. If you first type 

HOME \dos 

and you later switch to another directory, 
you can then type 

HOME 

M' itself to .switch you back to \DOS. How- 
ever, for this to work, you have to make 
.sure HOME.BAT is liwated in a directory 
that your PATH command knows about. 


SHARE YOUR SECRETS 

I Reveal your latest DOS and systems dis- 
I coveries through User-to-User, and we'll 
i pay you $50 or more for any submissions 
we print . plus an e.xtra $25 if you send your 
letter on a disk. If you send a disk, please I 
include a printout. Mail your contributions 
to User-to-User. PC Magazine, One Park | 
Avenue, New York, NY 10016. fiS 


CIRCLE 723 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


PC MAGAZINE 
.110 


PRODUCTIVITY 

■ EDITED BY CRAIG L. STARK 


Power user 



Displaying leading zeros in dBASE; formatting files in Hebrew; turning off with SuperKey; 
searching for strings across dBASE files; editing footnotes in WordPerfect. 


HANDLING LEADING ZEROS 

I recently had to create a field to hold serial 
numbers that had to be six characters wide, 
right-justified, and padded with leading 
zeros. The keypunchers had thousands of 
these to input and wanted to enter only the 
live digits. For example, they wanted to 
enter 1346 and automatically get 001346, 
or to key in 7A and output 00007A. The 
solution: 

ACCE "Enter TO X 

X=REPL ( " 0 " , 6-LEN ( X ) ) +x 

Alternatively, the whole database could be 
entered flush left and REPLaced at one fell 
swoop with 

REPL ALL <Fialdnaine> WITH; 

R£PLICATB< ”9’ , 6-LEN (TRIH(<PieldnajM>) ) ) ; 

•f TRIM ( <PiaIdnaiM> ) 

Mark Albrecht 
Erie, Pennsylvania 

I'd like to share a quick algorithm for dis- 
playing a numeric value with leading ze- 
ros. To display a six-digit integer with 
leading zeros, for instance, use 

7 SUBS(STR(lea0ea0+nuinber,7),2) 

Notice that 1000000 will now have the six 
leading zeros and that starting the SUBStr 
operation at offset 2 will return leading ze- 
ros without the I . 

Alan Queen 
Boise, Idaho 

dBASE III does support leading "$" or 
“*" with its PICTure templates for left- 
ftlling numbers, but not for leading zeros. 
This technique is also useful if you need to 


display leading zeros in a dBASE report 
form or to export an ASCII file to a main- 
frame that demands leading zeros. 

If your need is just the opposite— you' ve 
imported a file with leading zeros and need 
them stripped — see ' 'Zero Zapper' ' in 
Power User. PC Magazine, February 24, 
1987. — Brad Stark 


LEFT! RIGHT! 

There are several font programs available 
that can print the Hebrew alphabet. How- 
ever, since Hebrew reads from right to left, 
creating text files for these programs is a 
problem. A macro program like SuperKey 
can provide for normal (i.e., right-to-left) 
Hebrew text input. 

First, define the Alt version of each al- 
phabet key to be that key plus one Left 
Cursor movement. Similarly, define the 
Ctrl-key combination as the shifted ver- 
sion of the key plus one Left Cursor move- 
ment. Next, use your regular word proces- 


■ Since Hebrew reads 
from right to left, creating 
text files is a problem. A 
macro program like 
SuperKey can provide for 
right- to-left text input. 


sor, in insert mode, typing as usual. The 
letters will fall into place one behind the 
other. Be sure to put a carriage return at the 
end of each line so words won’t wrap in- 
correctly. 

Keep in mind that you can also take ad- 
vantage of the key-redefinition to alter the 
keyboard layout for easier mnemonic 
translation from one alphabet to the other. 

Sam Weiss 

Baltimore, Maryland 

While this is a nice trick, a number of word 
processing programs already use the Alt- 
key or Ctrl-key combinations for com- 
mands. Using SuperKey, however, you 
can redefine each letter as itself plus a Left 
Arrow key by adding a Backquote (Re- 
verse Accent, ') before typing the key. The 
Backquote tells SuperKey to skip the defi- 
nition and type the original version of the 
keystroke. In other words, if you define 
“a" as 

'a<left arrow> 

then typing the a key will produce an ' ‘a’ ’ 
plus a Left Arrow. SuperKey will also let 
you redefine the shifted keys differently 
from the unshifted keys. And you can use 
the same Backquote trick to redefine the 
Spacebar to produce a space plus a Left 
Arrow. Finally, you might like to define 
the Enter (Carriage Return) key to Jump to 
the right side of the screen and enter a Re- 
turn. This will make it far easier to enter a 
return after each line. — M. David Stone 
(Readers who intend to do a lot of work in 
Hebrew might find it easier to use a word 
processing program that handles it com- 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9, 1988 
311 


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POWER USER 


pletely. The Special Language Supple- 
ment to Nola Bene (Dragonfly Software. 
285 W. Broadway. #500. New York, NY 
10013) allows you to work, with proper 
character flow and fonts in English, 
Greek. Hebrew, Russian, etal. — Ed.] 


FIND IT WITH XREF 

XREF.BAT is a useful cross-reference 
utility for groups of dBASE programs or 
any other files written in ASCII format. It 
finds variables, reserved verbs, or con- 
stants, and you can direct its output to 
screen, printer, or a disk file. 

The syntax requires three parameters: 
(1) the filename(s) to be searched (DOS 
wildcards are OK); (2) the string you are 
searching for; and (3) the output deviee 
(you type con for console or pm for print- 
er, or specify a filename). For example: 

xref db*.prg varblname con 

XREF. BAT is so short you can create it 
right from the keyboard: 


COPY COHt XREF.BAT 
ECHO OFF 

FOR t%A IN (%1) DO FIND/N 
~z <Enter> 


’«2" %%A » %I 


[The "Z can be created either by hitting F6 
or by typing Ctri-Z. — Ed.\ One of the nice 
features of this command is that it displays 
the line number where the target string is 
found, so you know where it is if you must 
change it. Note that the DOS program, 
FIND.EXE, must be in the same directory 
or have a path pointing to it. 

Dwight Martin and Ron Trussel 

Minnetonka, Minnesota 

Don't you just love a great one-liner? 

Unlike Norton's TextSearch, XREF is 
case sensitive, which is sometimes an ad- 
vantage (sometimes a drag). / prefer it to 
LOCATE.COM (Programming, PC Mag- 
azine, May 14, 1985) because it searches 
groups of files arul displays the line num- 
ber (and surrounding text). The big limita- 
tion of XREF is that the search string must 
be one word long. — Brad Stark 


TURN IT OFF 

Most people use macro programs like Su- 
perKey to minimize typing and effectively 
add features to their programs. Rarely dis- 
cussed is the possibility of using SuperKey 
to turn off features. 


For example, the infamous Ctrl-Y com- 
mand in WordStar, for “Delete a line,” is 
far too easy to hit when you mean to type 
Ctrl-T for “Delete a word.” With Super- 
Key you can redefine Ctrl-Y as a harmless 
key combination such as <lns><lns>. 
You can then redefine some other key, 
Alt-Y perhaps, as the original Ctrl-Y with 
the definition 

'<CtrlY> 

That’s Backquote (Reverse Accent) - 
Ctrl-Y, or <SKIP><CtrlY> as Si^er- 
Key will record it. This combination 
makes it far less likely that you will delete 
a line accidentally, yet it will still let you 
delete a line when needed at the cost of 
only one extra keystroke. 

Daniel A. Guilds 

Clearwater, Florida 

Keep in mind that even if you don't set up 
another key to do the job, you can still use 
the feature you've defined away by typing 
the backquote first. In this example, the 
need to press two keys to delete a line is 
cumbersome. However, consider the 
Home key in Lotus 1-2-3 or SuperCalc 4. 
The Home key normally takes you back to 
cell A I no matter where you are in the 
spreadsheet. I find it far too easy to hit that 
key accidentally when / meant to hit the Up 


■ The infamous Ctrl-Y 
command in WordStar 
is far too easy to hit when 
you mean Ctrl-T. 


Arrow key instead. By redefining the 
Home key as <Ins><Ins>, you can 
avoid going to A I when you don ' t want to 
but can get there easily enough by typing 
Backquote-Home. — ^M. David Stone 

SEEING FOOTNOTES 

Writing and editing documents that con- 
tain footnotes or endnotes (such as articles 
for legal periodicals) is difficult using 
WordPerfect. While Version 4.2’s pre- 
view function lets you see the text of your 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
312 


P K 0 I) U C 1 I V I T Y 


SEENOTES. MAC 


<Ctrl-F10> 

Begin macro definition 

SEENOTES<CR> 

Call it SEENOTES 

<Hoine><Home><Up> 

Go to top of document 

<shi£t-F3> 

switch to other document 

<Alt-F5>6131<CR> 

Set paragraph numbers to legal style 

<Alt-F5>l 

Turn outline mode on 

<Shift-F3> 

Back to starting document 

<Alt-F10>FNEXEC<CR> 

Invoke macro FNEXEC 

<ctrl-F10> 

End macro definition 

FNEXEC. MAC 


<ctrl-F10> 

Begin macro definition 

<Ctrl-F7>2<CR> 

Edit next footnote 

<Alt-F4> 

Block On 

< Home >< H ome x Down > 

To bottom of note 

<Ctrl-F4>2 

copy block 

<F7> 

Exit from footnote 

<Shift-F3> 

switch documents 

<CR><CR><space> 

separate this entry from last 

<Ctrl-F4>5 

Retrieve text 

< H ome >< H ome >< Do wn > 

Go to bottom 

<Shift-F3> 

switch documents 

<Alt-Fl 0 >FNEXEC<CR> 

Re-invoke FNEXEC 

<Ctrl-F10> 

End macro definition 

Figure 1 : Two macros that allow you to write and edit footnotes in WordPerfect. 


notes as they will appear after printing, 
you can't edit on the preview screen. In ad- 
dition, preview has trouble with large doc- 
uments on a dual-floppy system. [Word- 
Perfect creoles the preview in a disk file, so 
you need available disk space when you 
preview a document. — N.J.R.] The note 
edit screen displays only one note at a 
time. 

My solution is a macro set that displays 
all notes at once in Doc 2. After I retrieve 
the document as Doc 1 , 1 invoke the macro 
SEENOTES. SEENOTES sets up Doc 2 
and chains to the macro FNEXEC, which 
is itself a repeating chain. When the macro 
finishes, simply switch to Doc 2 to view all 
of your notes. You can now edit a note in 
its proper context, cutting and pasting to 
Doc I’s note edit screen to register 
changes. The two macros you need are 
shown in Figure 1 . 

Josh Divack 

Decatur. Georgia 

This macro system creates a second docu- 
ment for you consisting of your endnotes 
alone, in order and numbered. You can 
print this document, save it. edit it. what- 
ever you please . Do realize, however, that 
the changes you make do not affect the 


original document unless you cut them 
from Doc 2 and paste them back in. The 
main benefit you get is the ability to swap 


■ This macro system 
creates a second document 
consisting of your 
endnotes alone. 


quickly between the document containing 
all your notes and the context of the origi- 
nal document. — Neil J. Rubenking 


SHARE YOUR POWER 

Tell fellow users about your latest techni- 
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languages, or DOS) through Power User, 
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trouble, plus an extra $25 if you submit 
your letter on a disk. If you send a disk, 
please include a printout. Mail your contri- 
butions to Power User. PC Magazine, One 
Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016. SB 


PC MAGAZINE 
313 


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CIRCLE 145 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



Dialog 

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How to Gro From 


$500 to $153 Million 


I n 1976, with three partners and $500, 

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From detailed information on potentially 
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© 1986. Dialog Busineu Connection,, of Dialog Information Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Lockheed Corp. TRBA. 
CIRCLE 330 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



P R () I) L' (‘ T I V { T Y 


■ EDITED BY ROBERT L. HUMMEL 


LANCmCES 



Speeding up Turbo Pascal calculations .finding the total bytes for a subdirectory in C; 
rotating prompt from BASIC; keeping FOR loops from turning into endless loops. 


BASIC 

SCROLLING MESSAGES 

Much of the time spent in a BASIC pro- 
gram involves getting a single key re- 
sponse from the operator in answer to a 
prompt. But while INPUT is a simple solu- 
tion. there are much better techniques 
available. 

I have written a subroutine (Figure I) 
that will display a message on line 25 of the 
video display, centered, and will rotate the 
message in '‘billboard” fashion. The rou- 
tine also accepts an attribute byte, so dif- 
ferent messages can be displayed in differ- 
ent colors. The message will rotate until a 
key is typed. This key is then returned to 
the calling program. The demonstration 
portion of the listing (lines 10 through 270) 
shows how to use the routine to display a 
prompt for changing the screen colors. A 
slight delay (DLY%) is provided in the 
program at line 401 1 1 and may he adju.sted 
to suit. 

Hubert C. Borrmann 

Lillian. Alabama 

This is siricily for use with the BASIC in- 
terpreter. though it could be modified to 
work with QuickBASIC and Turbo Basic 
by changing the DATA statements com- 
prised by the assembly language code. 

Note that the assembler routine is really 
only printing the characters, and the string 
is being rotated in BASIC. Thus, the pro- 
gram fragment in Figure 2 duplicates Mr. 

Borrmann' s routine and will work with 
any of the newer BASIC compilers. 

— Ethan Winer 

PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9,1988 
315 


90 LOCATE 6,12 : 
100 LOCATE 8,12 
110 LOCATE 14,12 
120 COLOR 14,0 


10 ■ 

20 'Line - in - Motion HCB 8/87 

30 'Demonstration of the subroutine "MOTION. SUB” 

40 * 

50 SCREEN 0 : KEY OFF t COLOR 7,0 : CLS : FCOL% « 14 t BCOL% » 0 
60 ON KEY{1) GOSUB 220 : ON KEY(2) GOSUB 240 : KEY(l) ON : KEY(2) ON 

70 ON KEY(3) GOSUB 260 : KEY<3) ON 

75 QU$*" Line * in • Motion" 

80 LOCATE 4,12 t PRINT " <F1> changes the foreground color > "; 

PRINT " <F2> changes the background color • "; 

5 PRINT " <F3> to quit this demonstration."; 

PRINT " Type any key i "; 

LOCATE 1,1 

125 PRINT CKR$<201); STRINGS ( 78, 205) ; CHR$(187); 

130 FOR X - 2 TO 23 

135 LOCATE X,1 : PRINT CHR$(186); t LOCATE X,80 { PRINT CHR$(186); 

136 NEXT 

140 LOCATE 24,1 : PRINT CHR$(200); STRINGS ( 78, 205 ) ; CHRS(188); 

150 LOCATE 1,24 : COLOR 3 : PRINT QUS; t COLOR 7,0 
160 TEXTS ■ STRINGS (20,"-.") + QUS 

170 'TEXTS ■ STRINGS(20,196) +"MAKE MY DAY" 

180 GOSUB 40000 : LOCATE 14,28 i PRINT "<"; I COLOR 10 

190 PRINT RTRS; 

191 COLOR 7,0 t 
195 SOUND 700,1 
200 GOTO 180 
210 ' 

220 FCOL% > FCOL% 

230 COLOR FCOL«,0 
240 BCOLt • BCOLt 
250 COLOR BCOLt, 0 
260 RETURN 270 

270 COLOR 7,0 s LOCATE 8,2 t SOUND 400,1 
280 ' 

290 ' 

40000 GOTO 40060 


PRINT ">"; : COLOR 7,0 


PRINT" was typed 




1 : IF FCOLt 
LOCATE 4,50 t 
1 : IF BCOLt 
LOCATE 6,50 t 


15 THEN FCOLt • 0 
PRINT FCOLt; J COLOR 7,0 : RETURN 
15 THEN BCOLt « 0 
PRINT BCOLt; : COLOR 7,0 


RETURN 


40005 'Call this subroutine in interpreted basic with GOSUB 40000 
40010 ' Requires : Text to be displayed on line -25 in TEXTS 

40015 ' The foreground color in FCOLt. 

40020 ' The background color in BCOLt. 

40025 ' Furnishes : The key pressed in RTRS 

40030 ' by: Hubert C. Borrmann. (written in August 1987) 


Figure 1 : A BASIC and assembler routine to provide a scrolling prompt message. 


l> K () I) U C T I V I 1 Y 


■ LANGUAGES 


C 

COUNTBNG BYTES WITH PIPES 

Mr. Ramesh Simthanam of Portage , Mich- 
igan, submitted a program, BYTES, that 
used pipes to make a DOS DIR command 
more icsefid. Mr, Santhanam wrote that he 
often faces the problem of having to man- 
ually add up the total disk space used by 
the files in an individual directory. The 
DOS DIR command displays file si:es and 
remaining disk space, hut not the total ac- 
cumulated di,sk space used by all of the 
files in a directory listing , 

His original program presented a com- 
plex .solution to the problem, which I have 
,simplified here. BYTES, shown in Figure 
J, is a ftller written in C that reads a direc- 
tory listing piped to it and prints the accu- 
mulated byte count of the files listed. 

You can use BYTES by typing 
DIR I BYTES 

at the DOS prompt or in a hatch file. An 
e.vample of the output of BYTES is shown 
in Figure 4, 

The directory listing produced by 
BYTES is ,slightly modified to place the to- 
tal byte count directly under the byte count 
for each file. The free space is placed on 
the next line to keep the display compact, 

BYTES uses a DOS ' 'pipe' ' to gel its in- 
put, A.v DOS ,send.s the output of the DIR 
command to BYTES, the program reads 
each line, looking for directory entries. By 
checking the character in column 35 
ICHECKCOL in the listing: offset from 
column 0, in C firshion) for a colon, the 
time stamp part of a directory listing can 
he located. When a directory entry is 
found, the file ,si:e in column 12 (START- 
SIZE) is .saved and summed. Then the line 
is printed ju.st like any nonnal DIR listing. 


/• bytai.e 

Idefine CHECRCOL 35 

• 

Idefine dirwIDTH 50 

• To conpll* with Microsoft C 4. 9/S. 8 

Cher buffer(DIRWIDTH): 

• cl bytes. c 


• To compile with Microsoft QuickCs 

msini ) 

• cl /qc bytes. c 

( 

•/ 

FILE ‘fp; 


lonq l.aecum * BL.freespace > 0L; 

linclude<stdio.h> 

int nunfiles > 0; 

linclude<etdlib.h> 

char 8izestr|10|; 

tinclude<ctype .h> 



if<l(fp > Btdinlt /• point to standard in */ 

Idefine rtLE COL 19 

exitd I : 

Idefine STARTSIZE 12 


Idefine ENDSI2E 21 

/* get each line ■/ 

Idefine FREESPACE 19 

while ( fqete (buffer. sizeof (buf fer)-l,fp) ) 

Idefine EMDFREE 27 

tamthiuest 


Figure 3: The listing for BYTES. C that determines space used by all the files in a suinlirectory. 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. 198K 
316 









40040 

’ The following 

variables are also 

used in this subroutine: 

40045 

' FLAG TEXT 

TEXT% 

X% 

Y% ATTR% DLY% 

40050 

' Calls the machine language 

routine ; CALL TEXT (ATTR%, TEXTS) 

40060 

WHILE FLAG 

S 0 : 

FLAG 

= 1 : 

DIM TEXT%(30) : RESTORE 40070 

40065 

FOR X% > 0 

TO 55 




40066 

READ y% 

; POKE (VARPTR(TBXT%(0) ) 

+ X%) , Y% 

40067 

NEXT X% 






40070 

DATA <iH55, 

&HeB 

&HEC 

4H8B, 

&H7E, 

&H08, &H8A 

40071 

DATA 6K1D, 

&HeB 

&H7E 

&H06, 

&KB0, 

&H50, &H2A 

40075 

DATA &H05, 

&HD0 

fcHE8 

anSA, 

6KD0, 

4H8A, &H0D 

40076 

DATA 6H32, 

&HED 

&H6B 

iH7D, 

&H01, 

&HB6, &K18 

40080 

DATA 4H51, 

iHB7 

&H00 

&HB4, 

&H02, 

&HCD, &H10 

40081 

DATA 6K8A, 

&H05 

&HB9 

&H01, 

&H00, 

&HB4, &H09 

40085 

DATA &KB7, 

&H00 

&HCD 

6H10, 

6HFE, 

&HC2, fiiH47 

40086 

DATA &H59, 

&RE2 

&HE8 

&H5D, 

&HCA, 

4H04, &H00 

40090 

WEND 






40095 

IF TEXT$ = 

THEN TEXT$ = " 

.?.?.? 


40100 

TEXT$ - RIGHTS <TEXT$, 

LEN( TEXTS )-l) 

+ LEFTS (TEXTS, 1) 

40101 

ATTR% » BCOL% * 

16 + 

FCOL% 



40105 

DEF SEG : 

TEXT » VARPTR(TEXT%(0) ) 

CALL TEXT{ATTR%, TEXTS) 

40110 

RTR$ - IMKEY$ 





40111 

IF RTR$ » 

"" THEN FOR 

DLY% ■ 

1 TO 40 : NEXT DLY% : GOTO 40100 

40115 

RETURN 





<Fi/{urc / aul.st 


show9 = "This is a scrolling message ..." 

Print “Press a key when you feel like it" 

GetKey : 

X$ = lnkey$ 

Call Hotion(Show$ ) 

If XS ® Goto GetKey 

Print "You pressed " Chr$(34) X$ chrS(34) 

Sub Motion (X$) static 

Static P 'remembers the position between calls 

H = PO3(0) 'save the current cursor position 

V = CsrLin 
L e Len(X$) 

P = p + 1 

If P > L Then P = 1 
Locate 25, 40 - L \ 2 

Print Right$(XS, L - P + 1) Left$(X$, P - 1>; 

X! * Timer 'delay so the scroll isn’t too fast 

While X! -f .1 > Timer : wend 'change .1 for different scroll speeds 
Locate V, H 'restore the cursor position 

End Sub 


Figure 2: A purely BASIC approach to scrolling messages on the screen. 


P K () D I’ C T 1 V ! T Y 


{ 

/• get free apace nunber •/ 

If {buff«r(CHECKCOLJ — /• if ch«ck col haa 'f •/ 

bufferlEMOFREE) • NULL) 

( /• w« found an antry •/ 

freeapace • atoll tbuf fert FREESPACE ]) 1 

aCrncpy(si<*atr,4buff«r(STRRTSlEB),altaof (alzaatr)-l): 

/• print reaulta •/ 

aizaatrlaitaof (Bizeatri-ll ■ HULL; 

printfi* t 91d bytea uaed in Zd File(a)*. 

if(l • acol|aiz«ttr ) 1 /• qet aiza •/ 

accuai, nuBif ilea) ; 

accua 1; /• accuaiulata it •/ 

printf|*\n a Bid bytea free*, freeapace) ; 

> 

break: /• break out of loop •/ 

alaa /• not a directory entry */ 

) 

/• if ■File* found •/ 

print f I *ta* , buffer ) : 

if ( latrncflip(tbuf fer[rxLC COL| , ‘File* ,4) it accua) 

} 

< 

exit(9); 

atrncpy(aizaatr,buf far , aizeof (alzeatr)-! | ; 

) 

aizeatr[ aiteof (aizeatr)-l ] - NULL) 


/• 9 et nuaiber of filea •/ 


nuatfilea > atoi(aizeatr) j 

(h'lfliireJd'ntJit 


Volunt in drive c hae no label 
Directory of Ct\WOM>\LAHGS\WIUt\8yTBS 

<DIR> 9>24-B7 Bt22p 

.. <DIR> 9-24<-S7 B:22p 

BYTES OBJ 1110 9-27-07 lt:21p 

BYTES EXE 001$ 9-27-07 lls22p 

BYTES C 102i 9-23-07 lli21p 

10151 bytes used in S Filets* 
27707290 bytes free 


Figure 4: An example of the output produced bv 
BYTES.EXE. 


VAR 

CH, CL, DH, DL : byte; 
time_in_9econds : real; 

(♦This way is slower :♦) 

time_in_seconds := (CH*3600 . 0 )+ (CL*60 ) +DH+(DL/100 ) ; 
(♦This way is faster :♦) 

time_in_seconds := (CL^60 ) +DH+ ( 3600 . 0^CH) +( 0 . 01^DL) ; 


Figure 5: Putting terms in optimal order can speed evaluation of expressions. 


If the line does not contain a directory 
entry, BYTES looks for the ' 'File' ' phrase 
in column 10 (FILE-COL), an indication 
that the listing is ending. The number of 
files and disk free-space numbers are read 
from the line and printed in the two-line 
format shown in Figured. 

BYTES uses the printfi), formatted- 
print function with the "% 9ld' ' format 
string. This forces a total of nine character 
positions to he used and ftlled with spaces, 
ensuring that the columns are lined up. 

Note that BYTES expects a DIR com- 
mand without the iW parameter, which 
will not provide the ftle sizes, 

— Richard Hale Shaw 


TURBO PASCAL 

STUFFER CORRECTION 

There's an error in the program STUFF- 
ER, on page 520 of our November 10, 
1987, issue. The definition of the variable 
‘ 'buffer' ' is incorrect. The upper bound of 
the array and the statement IF tail = 
should be $3D, not $3C. Thanks to Ken- 
neth C. Beaudrie of Denver, Colorado! 

— Neil J. Rubenking 


ORDER FOR CALCULATIONS 

Even though the two expressions in Figure 
5 are functionally equivalent. Turbo Pas- 
cal will execute the second much faster 


than the first for a number of rea.sons. 

First, integer arithmetic executes faster 
than floating-point arithmetic. In the first 
expression the floating-point math comes 
first, which forces Turbo to do all of the 
calculations as floating point. By moving 
the integer arithmetic to the beginning. 
Turbo can execute part of the calculation in 
integer arithmetic before switching to 
floating point. 

Second, floating-point multiplication 
executes much faster than floating-point 
division. Therefore, instead of dividing by 
l(X) we multiply by 0.01 . 

Third, the order in which variables and 
constants are specified makes a difference 
in speed. Just as it is easier for you to mul- 
tiply 1 ,234,567 by 89 than to multiply 89 
by 1.234,567, itiseasierforTurbotoeval- 
uate 3600.0*CH than the reverse. 

Michael D. Babigian 
Elk Grove, California 

Putting your calculations in optima! order 
can certainly speed them up, as shown 
here, Howex’er, the most significant opti- 
mization you can perform on a Turbo Pas- 
cal 3.0 program is to convert it to Version 
4.0. I was amazed at the speed improve- 
ment in both of the example expressions, A 
quick speed check showed TP4 three to six 
times faster. The optimally ordered ex- 


■ The most significant 
optimization you can 
perform on a Turbo 
Pascal 3.0 program is to 
convert it to Version 4.0. 


pression is still faster than the other, hut by 
a smaller margin. And in TP4, it appears 
that the order of the operands makes no 
difference. — NeilJ. Rubenking 


FOR LOOP WARNING 

Forcing an exit from a FOR loop by as- 
signing the control variable a value greater 
than the lest condition is a bad program- 
ming practice. Under Turbo Pascal 4.0, its 
effects are worse than ever. The code in 
Figure 6 seems to work fine under Turbo 
Pascal 3.0, but what actually happens is 
that the loop will repeal ten times no matter 
what. The assignment is ignored. In 4.0, 
your program will never get out of the 
loop. It's setting count to 1 1 , making it 12, 
then back to 1 1 . endlessly. You can see 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9, 1988 
317 



If You’re Not Buying 


PRINTERS" 


EPSON 

LX 800 

$189 

FX 86E 240 CPS. 40 NLQ . . . 

299 

FX 286 E 240 CPS, 40 nlq . 

439 

LQ 500 180 CPS 60 NLQ . . . 

319 

LQ 850 

.479 

LQ 1050 

659 

LQ 2500 324 CPS 108 NLQ. 

849 

EX 800 300 CPS 60 NLQ . . . 

399 

EX 1000 

469 

OKIDATA 

180 120 CPS 

229 

192 Plus 200 CPS 

305 

193 Plus 200 CPS 

439 

292 Plus 200 CPS, 100 nlq . 

439 

293 Plus 200 CPS. 100 nlq . 

575 

294 Plus 400 CPS 

809 

393 450 CPS 

925 

Laser Line 6 

1450 

TOSHIBA 

321 SL 180 CPS, 60 NLQ . . . 

499 

351 11 300 CPS 100 NLQ 

859 

341 SL 180 CPS. 72 NLQ . . . 

659 

351 Color 240 CPS. 100 NLQ. . 

1025 

NEC 

2200 

359 

P6/P7 435/619 

P5XL/P9XL 850/1030 

3550/8850 725/1020 

PANASONIC 

10801 Modell II 

185 

1091 Model 11 

. 199 

1092 

309 

1592 

405 

1595 

469 

HEWLETT- PACKARD 

Laser Series II 

1695 

DICONIX 150 

325 

OTC 850 CPS 

1875 


■hard DRIVES' 


Seagate 20 mb w/contr, ST225 . . $279 
Seagate 30 mb w/contr. ST238 . . . . 299 

Seagate 20 mb for AT ST4026 450 

Seagate 30 mb for AT ST4038 489 

Seagate 40 mb for AT ST^Sl 399 

IOMEGA BERNOULLI 

lOmbw/card 1039 

10 plus 10 w/card 1450 

20 plus 20 w/card 1925 

BERNOULLI PLUS 3450 

BERNOULU BOX II SVi” 

20 mb internal 955 

20 mb external w/card 1195 

dual 20 mb external w/card 1795 

SYSGEN Durapack single 925 

dual external/intcrnal .... 1695/1395 

Plus Hard Card 40 709 

Plus Hard Card 20 525 

Priam 60 mb AT 819 

Priam 43 mb AT 685 


MODEMS 


Everex 1200/2400 int $89/179 

Everex 2400 external 249 

Hayes 1200/2400 279/419 

Migent Pocket Modem 169 

US Robotics 2400 direct internal 
Ventel Half Card 1 200 w/Crosstalk . 

Ventel Half Card 2400 w/ Crosstalk . 

Ventel 1200 Plus 

Ventel 2400 Plus 


169 

259 

359 

239 

359 


MONITORS 


AMDEK 

410 

Color 722 

Color 600T 

PRINCETON 

MAX12 

HX12 

HX12E 

HX9 

Ultrasync 

IBM 

Mono 850 

Color Display 8512 

Color Display 8513 

Color 8514 

NEC Multisync II 

NEC Multisync Plus 

Magnavox KGB80 


SOFTWARE 


Aldus Pagemaker $459 

Chartmaster 209 

Clipper 379 

Corefast 99 

Crosstalk XVI 99 

DBase III 389 

DBXL 89 

Enable 2.0 w/ Perspective 379 

Fastback Plus 115 

Foxbase Plus 199 

Freelance Plus 329 

Framework II 309 

IBM Display Write IV 289 

Lotus 309 

Lotus Hal 109 

Managing Your Money 4.0 125 

Microsoft Word 4.0 229 

Microsoft Excel 329 

Microsoft Works 129 

Multimate Advantage II 269 

Mulliplan 119 

Office Publisher 589 

Office Writer 5.0 259 

Peachtree II Complete 149 

PFS Prof Write 119 

PFS Prof File 145 

PFS 1st Choice 89 

Quantro 125 

R Base System VI. 1 419 

Revelation 575 

Super Calc IV 1.0 269 

Symphony 1.2 439 

Ventura Desktop Publishing 499 

Volkswriter III 149 

Word Perfect 4.2 199 

Wordstar 2000 Plus 3.0 199 

Wordstar Pro 4.0 209 


TAPE DRIVES 

Everex m.b. internal . ..”.... 

external 

Genoa Galaxy 60 mb internal . . 

external 

Archives 40 mb internal 

Sysgen Quic 60 internal 

external 

jSysgen 20 mb internal 

external 


635 

799 

929 

339 

895 

949 

575 

650 


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& 20 mg 

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Model 50 

2695 

Model 60 -40/70 

3195 

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Model 80 -40/70 

4095 

4650 

IBM AT 339 

3695 

COMPAQ 

386 Desk Pro 40/60/130 

$4599/5575/6950 

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12 mhz 

2150 

Compaq II Model 


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Color System add $150 w/20 mb 
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hi res. monographics, monochrome 
monitor, clock calendar. $1195 
Color system add $150 
w/30 mb add $450. w/40 
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LAPTOPS 


NEC Multispeed. . . . $1410 
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NEC Multispeed HD. . . 2299 

Toshiba 1000 810 

Toshiba 1200 2395 

Toshiba Til 00 Plus. .. 1450 

Toshiba 3100 3169 

Zenith 2 Drive 1695 

Zenith 2/10 mg 2295 


AT&T SYSTEMS 


6300 

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Systems include Keyboard. Bit 
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AT&T Color Monitor ... 675 


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ORCHID TURBO EGA 459 

PARADISE Auto Switch 480 159 

QUADRAM EGA PLUS 169 

QUAD PRO SYNC 209 

SIGMA COLOR 400 299 

NEC GB-1 Multisync 199 

STB CHAUFFEUR HT 169 

STB Multi Res. 480x640 259 

VEGA DELUXE 239 


MULTI FUNCTION BOARDS 

AST Advantage w/128K $239 

AST Advantage Premium w/512K. 449 

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AST 6 PACK PREMIUM w/256K .199 

AST 5251-11 PLUS Enhanced 625 

AST RAMPAGE 286 320 

AST HOTSHOT 339 

EVEREX MAGIC CARD II W/384K .175 

EVEREX MINI MAGIC w/o K 59 

FAST 88/V20 w/Switch 89 

INTEL Above 286 w/512K 319 

INTEL Above PS286 w/512K 349 

INTEL Inboard 386 w/ Adapter 1040 

IRMA BOARD II 699 

J RAM III for PC w/o K 169 

J RAM III for AT w/o K 229 

J LASER PLUS PC/AT 489/589 

ORCHID JET 386 w/adapter 975 

ORCHID PC Net Starter Kit 735 

ORCHID Tiny Turbo 286 269 

ORCHID Ramquest50/60w/2mb. . 4659 
ORCHID Twin Turbo 389 




MICE & MISC 

GENIUS MOUSE w/Dr. Halo . . 

MICROSOFT MOUSE 

w/PC Paint Brush 119 

MOUSESYSTEMS MOUSE 105 

LOGITECH MOUSE C7 Plus 74 

IBM SYSTEM II MOUSE 85 

KODAK Data Show w/ Cooling Fan . . . 750 

MICROFAZER w/8K 129 

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CIRCLE 481 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


PRODUCTIVITY 


■ LANGUAGES 


■ It’s clear enough — if 
you need a loop that you 
can break out of, use a 
REPEAT or WHILE. 


this effect by putting a “WriteLn(count)” 
statement inside the loop. 

Better programming would use While 
or Repeat loops. For speed, use “Inc 
(count)” under 4.0 instead of “count : = 
count + I" in such loops. If you really 
must force a FOR loop exit under 4.0, set 
the control variable exactly equal to the test 
condition, not beyond. 

Note that Lxrnglnt variables can control 
a FOR loop in Turbo Pascal 4.0. This is a 


roR eouot I- 1 TO If DO 
8BOIR 

IF •hort_elrouit_condltion_*xi*t* TUSK 
count ■> 11 } {<— HROMOiy 
dotcom thin9_ia^rt«nt 
BHOl” 


Figure 6: A bad programming practice that’s 
even worse in Turbo Pascal 4.0. 


terrific feature! If you use loops like this: 

X := 0.0; 

WHILE X < 1000000.0 do 
BEGIN 

sonie_taslc; 

X := X + 1.0 
END; 

rewrite them like this: 

FOR X := 1 TO 1000000 DO 
BEGIN 

some task; 

END; 


I've found that using LongInt variables is 
much faster than using any type of real 
variable. 

Mike Caro 

Huntington Park, California 

The Jensen and Wirth Pascal User Manual 
says, ' 'The control variable . . . must not 
be altered by the FOR statement. ' ’ That's 
clear enough— if you need a loop that you 
can break out of, use a REPEAT or 
WHILE.— New J. Rubenking 


SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE 

Share your knowledge of BASIC, C, Pas- 
cal, FORTRAN, and COBOL with Lan- 
guages readers, and we'll pay you $50 or 
more for any tips we print, plus an extra 
$25 if you submit your letter on a disk. If 
you send a disk, please include a printout. 
Mail your contributions to Languages. PC 
Magazine, One Park Avenue, New York, 
NY 10016. GH 


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CIRCLE 360 ON READER SERVICE CARD 

PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
320 


PRODUCTIVITY 

■ ROBERT L. HUMMEL 


PC TUTOR 



Avoiding ANSI prompts that lock up your printer; compatibility rules for two-monitor 
systems; checking whether your drive is ready; printer port address assignments. 


My discussion of printer port assignments 
in the December 8. 1987, issue contained 
one small but important error. / explained 
that there are three base port addresses re- 
served for parallel port devices: 278h, 
378h, andSBCh. / reversed, however, the 
order in which those addresses are 
scanned by the BIOS and assigned as 
LPTx. The fifth paragraph should have 
read as follows: 

Let's as.sume you have only one paral- 
lel port adapter card, configured to re- 
spond to port 378h. installed in your sys- 
tem. That card will be available as printer 
I. If you in.stall a second adapter, config- 
ured for 278h, your original card will still 
be printer I, and the new card will he 
printer 2. But if the second adapter card 
you in.stall is configured for 3BCh. it will 
become printer I , and the old card will be- 
come printer 2 . 

My thanks to Antoine Karam, of New 
Bedford, Massachussetts, for bringing this 
to my attention. Mr. Karam sent a table 
that shows the possible combinations of 
port addresses and their resulting assign- 
ments. I've reproduced it here as the table 
‘ 'DOS LPT X A.s.signments . ' ’ 


MULTIPLE MONITORS 
I have an EGA board with an Enhanced 
Color Display on my IBM PC AT. If I 
wish to install and drive a .second monitor 
concurrently, what are my choices? 

Richard G. Estock 
Colonia. New Jersey 

The rule of thumb is one color and one 
monochrome system per computer. In 


your case, you can only install a mono- 
chrome monitor with a monochrome 
adapter. Here's why. 

The original IBM PC .supported simul- 
taneoiLS operation of two display types, a 
MotuKhrome Display Adapter (MDA ) and 
a Color Graphics Adapter (CGA). Thus, 
an MDA driving a monochrome monitor 
and a CGA driving a color monitor can be 
installed in a single PC without conflict. 
This is due to two important factors. 

First, the video memory used to store 
the data that make up the .screen images is 
assigned different physical addresses for 
the two adapters. The MDA is allocated 
32KB. starting at BOOO.OOOO. Of that 
32KB, however, only the first 4KB is 
u.sed — enough to store one screen of text. 
The CGA video memorv, located at 
8800:0000, is also allocated 32KB. all of 


which may be used when operating in 
graphics modes. The video memory is lo- 
cated on the adapters themselves, with the 
exception of the PCjr, which uses system 
memory. Adapters whose video memory 
overlapped would cause both displays to 
become scrambled. 

The .second important factor is the HO 
(input/output) port address at which the 
CPU communicates with the two adapter 
types. Devices in the PC use HO ports as 
gateways through which data and instruc- 
tions pass as they travel to and from the 
CPU. Like memory locations, ports are 
identified by an address. The video subsys- 
tems are alhKated ports 3B0h to 3BFhfor 
momK'hrome and ports 3D0h to 3DFhfor 
color. 

The Enhanced Graphics Adapter 
(EGA) can be configured (using DIP 


DOS LPTx Assignments 

Printer name assigned by DOS 


my 


278h 


378h 


3BCh 


378h 

278h 

3BCh 

278h 

3BCh 

378h 

3BCh 

378h 


278h 


} 


Port address combinations 


This table can be used to determine the LPTx designation that DOS will assign to any 
combination of parallel port devices. Find the row that lists the ports installed; 
the column heading will show the device name above each port address. 


PC MAGAZINE e MARCH2 9. 1988 
321 



PRODI'CTIVITY 


■ PC TUTOR 


■ Although the EGA can 
be configured to respond 
as a monochrome or color 
board, two EGAs cannot 
be in a single system. 


board, two EGAs cannot be installed in a 
single system. This is because, in addition 
to the assigned ports, the EGA uses ports 
in the range from 3C0h to 3CFh. Thus, 
two EGA systems in the same PC would 
conflict. The EGA card does contain a 
jumper to move the card addressing from 
3.XX to 2xx, but no current BIOS supports 
this alternate addressing. 

The following table illustrates your 
choices. 

Primary Secondary 


switches on the card) to act as a color or 
monochrome display card. The setting of 
the DIP sn itches determines to which port 
and video memory addresses the card will 
respond. The EGA can therefore be substi- 
tuted for one of the other cards as long as 
the monitor type (color or monochrome) 
remains the same. 

Although the EGA can be configured to 
respond as either a monochrome or color 


MDA CGA or EGA! color 

CGA MDA or EGAImono 

EGAIcolor MDA 
EGAImono CGA 


CHECKING DISK STATUS 

How can a batch file determine whether 
the A: drive door is open? Or, more to the 
point, whether a disk is installed and 
ready? Can you provide a utility which sets 


DOS's ERRORLEVEL so that a batch file 
can decide whether to try to read/write files 
on a floppy drive? 

Dan Glisson 

Boston-, Massachusetts 

It's really a shame that DOS doesn't pro- 
vide a full-featured batch language for 
creating more-intelligent batch flies. How- 
ever, as you suggest, ERRORLEVEL can 
make up for at least some of DOS’s short- 
comings. Figure I shown on the following 
page lists a short program you can create 
with DEBUG that will return the status of 
any disk drive in your system. 

To create the program DSKREADY 
.COM, make sure DEBUG is in your cur- 
rent directory or in a directory accessed by 
your PATH command. Then, simply start 
DEBUG, and type in the instructions ex- 
actly as shown in Figure I . Be sure to in- 
clude the blank line — Just an <En- 
ter>—iust before the RCX command. To 


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PRODUCTIVITY 

■ PC TUTOR 


N DSKREAOY.COM 
A 100 


OR 

AL^AL 

JNZ 

0117 

MOV 

AL, (005C] 

DEC 

AL 

MOV 

CX,0001 

XOR 

DX.DX 

MOV 

BX,011B 

INT 

25 

JB 

0117 

XOR 

AL,AL 

MOV 

AH,4C 

INT 

21 

R CX 


IB 



H 

Q 


Rgure 1 : A program to include in .BAT files to 
check the status of a disk drive. 


use the program, just put the line 

DSKREADY d: 

in your batch file, where d: is the drive you 
wish to test. 

Much of the function of DSKREADY 
depends on some nice little extras that 
DOS performs for us whenever it loads a 
program. For e.xample, if the first argu- 
ment after the program name contains a 
drive specifier, DOS will check to see if it 
is valid. If not, the AL register is set to 
FFh. if the drive letter is valid, AL will be 


DSKREADY 
ERRORLEVEL Codes 


0 

Oitk it ready 

2 

Drive not ready 


(No disk or door open) 

12 

General lalliire 


(Disk not tormatted) 

255 

Drive does not exist 


zero, and the number of the drive (A = l, 
etc.) will be stored at offset 5Ch in the 
PSP. the start of the first File Control 
Block (FCB). If a second argument is pre- 
sent and contains a drive specifier, the ac- 
tion is the same except the AH register is 
used, and the second FCB , located at 6Ch, 
is used. 

If an invalid drive is specified. 
DSKREADY will return with ERRORLE- 


VEL set to 255. If the drive is valid, the 
DSKREADY .COM program attempts to 
read a sector from the drive in question. 
Unlike the other DOS functions, INT 25h 
and INT 26h don't generate the "Abort, 
Retry, Ignore?' ' message when a disk er- 
ror occurs. Instead, they return error 
codes directly to the calling program. 
These error codes are then passed to the 
batch file when DSKREADY terminates. 
The table "DSKREADY ERRORLEVEL 
Codes” lists the values returned by 
DSKREADY and the meanings associated 
with them. 


PROBLEMS WITH ANSI PROMPTS 

I use the ANSI. SYS driver to add color to 
my screen by using the following 
PROMPT command: 

PROMPT $e(31;40;mSn$g5e[32;40n\ 

This gives me a red “A>" and green text. 
I have placed this command in my AU- 
TOEXEC.BAT file to automatically load 
it each time I start my computer. 

Now for the catch. Whenever I issue a 
Ctrl-PrtSc command to echo screen output 
to the printer, normal output (e.g., a DIR 
listing) prints just fine. But when the 
prompt reappears, the printer locks up and 
will not take another command until you 
cycle the power or reboot the computer. 
The printer works fine as long as I do not 
issue a PROMPT command with the $e| 
string in it. All the prompts that are listed in 
the DOS manual work fine. Can you ex- 
plain this? 

James Hodges 

Palmersville, Tennessee 

This is one of those problems that can be 
very aggravating. The Ctrl-PrtSc function 
(which can also be toggled with Ctrl-P) 
causes every character that is sent to the 
screen using a DOS function to also be 
sent to the printer. This is great for logging 
DOS or DEBUG sessions. 

The ANSI. SYS driver can be used for 
screen and keyboard control at the DOS 
level. Instructions are passed to ANSI by 
including them in the output stream pref- 
aced by the sequence ESC[. When ANSI 
sees these two characters, it interprets the 
following characters as instructions. A 
popular way to pass commands to ANSI is 
via the prompt command. When doing so. 


the ESC character is represented by $e. 

Unfortunately, most printers also use 
the ESC character to signal instructions, 
so if your prompt has a $e in it. and Ctrl- 
PrtSc is on, the possibility of conflict ex- 
ists. The ESC and following characters 
will be sent to the printer, possibly causing 

■ Unfortunately, most 
printers use the ESC char- 
acter, so if your prompt 
has a $e and Ctrl-PrtSc is 
on, the possibility of 
conflict exists. 


it to go into a different mode, shutdown, or 
signal back an error and wait for a reset 
code. 

A lot of stopgap measures could be im- 
plemented, like filtering all ESC codes out 
of the printer stream, but then legitimate 
instructions couldn't get through. So, un- 
fortunately, the simplest solution is to give 
up either the $e in your prompt command 
or Ctrl-PrtSc. If. however, you can live 
with partial color and the inconvenience of 
having to oc casionally run a batch file to 
re-color your screen, you can .split your 
prompt into two parts, thus: 

PROMPT $e[31j40;m 

PROMPT $n$g 

The first line sets the screen color, and the 
second sets a normal prompt. Put both 
lines in a batch file and run it whenever 
you need color. 


ASKTHE PC TUTOR 
The PC Tutor solves practical problems 
and explains points of general interest 
about using your hardware and software 
more productively, and answers basic 
questions about [X)S and systems in gen- 
eral . To see your questions answered here, 
drop a line to PC Tutor, PC Magazine. 
One Park Avenue. New York. NY 10016. 
We're sorry, but we cannot answer ques- 
tions personally. [IS 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
323 



We liked UNlock MasterKey, 


■ COPY PROTECTION 

RUN YOUR PROGRAM ON ANY HARD DISK 

unlock MasterKey Removes 
Copy Protection from 
140 PC Programs 


The new UNlock MasterKey 
"copying" disk by TranSec and 
best selling UNlock Albums A+ 
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popular original PC programs. 

Your original disk is un- 
changed and the unprotected 
backup copies perform exactly 
the same as the original, as do 
copies of these copies. 

UNlock copies run on any 
hard disk, including Bernoulli 
Boxes. No original key disk is 
required in Drive A. You can also 
run on a RAM disk and conven- 
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Take protection off 
programs not listed by 

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• 

New UNlock MasterKey is 
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MasterKey has the ability to 
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With UNlock MasterKey an 
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While other copiers will make 
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AUergraf (2.2) • Autoesd Etn A Wtn (25x j • Bancstar • BaaiO'2C Runtima Package (2.00.04 
& 12/1 2«6)*Baianea of Power '8S•Ca^(^11.01. 3.01) •CadvMca (1.10,1.20.1.30) 

• Computer Aided Planning (CAP) 12/15/86 • Cadvanca DXP Translator • CAP (3.00) • 
Cbassin8elar2000 r86)<Courtrscting System (22) •CP2A (5.8)* DAM Buatan (’66) -Data 
Hlgtiway Diagnostics (1.3) • Dstabaea Mana^ N (2.0, 2.02) • Diagram Master (5.1) • 
Diagrapfi (3.3, 3.4.1 , 3.5) • Dlaeovary Litigation Sup^ (2.3, 2.3a, 3.0) * Disk Optimtzar 
(1.4, 15) • Eruneead (VtOB) • Eeeribien (2. 2.0A) • FInendal Analysis for Farmers (6.0) * 
FinanctslProlBae(1.5.2Z2.3)<FundMeslor-TC(3.5)*QSSArabWorld(1.36A)*Harmony 
(2.35, 3.00) • IBM Drawing Assistant (1.0) • IBM Graphing Aasistwit (1.0. 2.0) • IBM 
Planning Assistant (1 .0) • iCSf Intaraetiva IQ Progr a m (1.11)* fcisaarch (1 .02) • Insmark 
(4.03E) • htareaptor IV (1.0A,1.0B) • Intercom 102 (2.30S.4.14) • Kwnpfgruppa ('SS) • 
Maintsnanca Analyals System (4.00) • Magnatyps (1.4) • M a p mas tsr (6.0) • Mean 16 Golf 
C86 )• HMtab (5.1 .1 )• Multilingual Scholar (2.9) > Multilingual Scriba (2.9) • Paradox (1 .0) 

• PBS (1 .0) • PC Emulator ( 1 .03) • Patrocaic (85) • PCATE (33n-4) • PC FOCUS (1 .5. 2.0, 4.5) 

• PC biformation System (921 )>PCUNK(1.0)>Pfs:Accasa (^,C)*Pfa:Flla (Tandy B.C) 

• PfstGraph (Tandy, B) • PfsrPlan (Tandy, B. C. 2.00) • PfarRsport (Tandy, 1.00. 1.00.00, B. 
C) • Pfa:Wr1ta (Tandy. 1.00, 1.01, C, 2.00) * Pictura Psrfact (3.3, 3.5) • PLC-2 Ladder 
Logistics (2/1 1/87) • Pluto (’SA) • Print Master (1.1P) • Print Shop (Eaily '85. Uts -85. '66) • 
ProOHs (12) * Ouiekan (S4) • Real CICS (1.10) • Heal Estate AppraM System CST) • 
Rsdboard • Residential Appraisal Proca aa or (R8C) • Serasnlo for Cobol (2.0) • Sidekick 
(1.566) • Sketch Prccaeeor (S5K) • SmARTWORK (1.0 rS-IO, 1.1. 12 r.3..7) « Sofibol I 
Runtima System (2.11 ) (11) • Sofibridge FInarMial Planner (2.1) * Spectra Businaee 
Syslams(3.01)*Spotilght (1.0)* SPSS StaUslics for the IBM PC (1.1) •Star Trek: The 
KobayaehlAllamatlva* Superb •Ststat (2)* Tango PCB Layout System (3.03,3.04) 

• Tango Route ( 1 .1 0) • Tachaonix Oigittxar (2.6M) •Taylor Allan Bradley Progranm (6.1 9) 
•T-Bond Trading System (*84) • Tancora Authoring Sustem (3.00 Bata) •Toatax (1 5) • Type 
1 (6rodsrtMnd)r8^ •LMvarsal Ufa Pars. Prop. System (6.4N)*VaraatHaRepM System 
(2.3l)^V)daoS(oraMarwgar(S6)-Wh8(‘sBeet(1.l)^Waetinghousa Nuns Logic(2.l. 3.0) 

• GENERK PROlok Unlockar • GENERIC PROLolk Classic • GENERIC SUPERLok 

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from TranSec Systems, because 
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it removes copy protection 
and that's what we want. 

We also liked the speed at which 
it removed the copy protection and 
the informative documentation 
that accompanied the package. 
UNlock MasterKey is simply the 
most elegant of those we tested and 


is well worth its $159.95 price. 


UNlock MasterKey 
EDITOR’S CHOICE 
NOVEMBER 24. 1987 


JANUARY 12,1988 • PC MAGAZINE 

BEST OF 1987 SELECTION 
UNlock MasterKey 

For 1967 PC MagoMine’a author* and editor* choM the no*! 
•ianlficant coatrlbution* uad rao*t ftivored product* of the 
jrear. Tbojr called UNlock MaiiterK^ unlocking tool* th« 
ultimate equaliMer for remtoviug copy protection. 



iMAGAZINEll 


EDITOR’S 

CHOICE 



Guaranteed to work only with listad programs: 


unlock- $49.95* 
Album "A" Plus 


UNlockt $79.95* 
Album "D" Plus 

Latin 1-2.3 |i A IV. 2.0. 2.01) 

IBM Writing Asalstant (i.o. 2 oi 

IBM Filing Anistant (1.11. 2.01 

IBM Roporting Aisiitant 11.0. 2.0) 
Graphwriter (4 au.i) 

RetiA Cobol (12.2.0) 

MultlLink Advanced 12.02. 3 03) 

dBASEUIAdBASEIIIPLUSnoi 

Framework 1 and II |ioi 

Chartmaatar|s.i.E.2i 

Slgnmaatar(503.505.o.i) 

Faalbackiu) 

Harvard Total Pro|act Mgrti.ioi 
ThkikTank (2.0.21) 

DoHarst Sanaa (2.0) 


dBASEIIIAdBASEinPlua (1.0) 
Framework 1 A II (1.0) 

Clipper (ttnjnwa) 

Faamock is 3| 

Cbarlmaater (01.02) 

Signmaatariai) 

Dollara A Sanaa (2.0) 

Mlcroeolt Word (i.is. 2.0. 2.01) 

LotUa 1.3.3 (1A 1A'.2.0.2.0I) 

Symphony (i.i. 12) 

Lotua 1-2.3 Report Writer (ioi 
DoublaOOS(U) 

Harvard Total Project Mgr (1.10) 
MngYour Money (ai) 
'nilnkTank(2.o.2.i) 


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CHOICE OF THE CrniCS! 


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Id fbwleasly, MM co^ of mas 
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^ ^ works fine on the program its sup- 

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M MllMra pndud ninw ml nownwu art t* n* prcp«f|r d Mr iMpacM wnan 



I> R O I) U C T I V I T V 


■ FRANK J. DERFLER, JR. 


Connectivity 


CUNIC 


Downloading files from the IBM Sy stem! 36 to a PC; problems with running a Novell server 

using DOS 3.2; lowering the cost of networking without sacrificing IBM compatibility. 


SYSTEM/36 FILE TRANSFER 

Transferring dam from the popular IBM 
Syslem/36 minicomputer isn't always 
easy. Here Thomas Lewis offers insight 
and hints on the prw ess. 

In your reply to Vivek Chanmugan in the 
December 22 issue regarding download- 
ing of data files from the IBM Syslem/36 
to a PC, you may have missed the actual 
question. I think the key to the question is 
the word packed. In this ca.se, the word 
most likely applies to the storage of numer- 
ic values in such a way as to use roughly 
half the normal space. This is done by 
eliminating the “zone" nibble (half-byte) 
for numeric items and compressing the 
data to two digits per byte. The sign is car- 
ried in the low-order nibble of the right- 
most byte of the field. 

The problem with such data is that EBC- 
DlC-to-ASCIl conversion can yield some 
strange results because such data is not 
clean EBCDIC to start with. Since the 
technique is widely u.sed for numeric items 
in both the IBM mainframe (S/370) and 
mini (S/3X) worlds, it is common for a 
special extraction program to “unpack” 
and insert decimals and signs in the data 
prior to downloading and translation. 

I don’t recommend it, but since your 
correspondent is forced to rekey from 
printed reports, it is possible to download a 
report from the System/36 using the fol- 
lowing steps: 

1. Print the report on the System/36, 
placing the output on hold in the print 
spool (use PRlORlTY-0 in the printer 
statement for automatic hold). 


2. Use the COPYPRT procedure to 
copy the spool entry to a file; then you can 
release the report to print or cancel it via 
this prtK'edure. 

3. Download the resulting file. It will 
contain a header record and some format- 
ting information at the beginning of each 
record (print line). The records will be the 
report lines themselves, including heading 
lines and spaces between fields. It's not 
pretty, but this technique can be useful. 

If this method doesn’t work, your corre- 
spondent will have to convince his pro- 
grammer to develop an extract program to 
write the needed data with delimiters, 
signs, and decimals. 

Thomas Lewis 
Clinton. Mississippi 


ECONOMICAL IBM COMPATIBDJTV 

We certainly enjoy your column and sub- 
scribe to PC Magazine for that reason. 
Here are our questions: We are installing 


■ A hub is not required 
for the IBM PC 
Network Baseband 
Adapter, whose 
cards and wiring help 
keep costs low. 


!BM Doctor's Office Manager software 
under the IBM Token-Ring Network with 
IBM hardware without a dedicated file 
server and with only one or two other ATs 
added as mxles. How much speed im- 
provement would a dedicated file server 
give? Are there other, more-economical 
ways to boost the speed ? Are there eco- 
nomical ways to lower networking costs 
and still retain tight IBM compatibility? 

Also, we would like to handle TSR pro- 
grams but always run out of room. How 
can we tell how much memory is avail- 
able? 

A. Colin Fkxxl 

Goffstown, New Hampshire 

Always nice to hear from a fan, Mr. Fhxxi. 
Taking your questions in order, you must 
decide how much work you plan to do lo- 
cally on the file serx'er. Since you will have 
only about 1 70K RAM free after PC Local 
Area Network Program loads all of the 
server modules on this machine, there isn ' l 
too much you can do. The speed improve- 
ment you should expect from a dedicated 
file ser\’er depends again on how many lo- 
cal keystrokes and disk activity requests 
take the attention of the server away from 
the network. 

Frankly, the best way to keep a network 
responsive is not to use it. If applications 
can reside on the AT workstations, then 
store and use them there. Save the network 
for networked tasks. 

You certainly can lower the cost of 
networking by duwsing the IBM PC Net- 
work Baseband Adapter instead of the 
IBM Token-Ring Network adapters and 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
325 


PRODUCTIVITY 


■ CONNECTIVITY CLINIC 


Multistation Access Unit . This little-known 
IBM network alternative is not the same as 
the IBM PC Network brwidband network 
originally made by Sytek. The IBMiSytek 
system is a broadband cocixial cable sys- 


tem. The Baseband Adapter is a StarLAN- 
type system running over unshielded twist- 
ed-pair wiring. A hub is not required. The 
cards and wiring all keep costs low. Tech- 
nically, the throughput of this system is 


■ We regularly 
experience problems 
with DOS 3.3 in 
disk format activities. 


less than that of the Token-Ring, but / 
don ' t think you ‘ II see a practical difference 
in performance. We have a full review of 
the Network Baseband Adapter scheduled, 
but. as far as it's possible to predict in ad- 
vance. / think you' II be happy with it. 

The simplest way to tell how much RAM 
is left is to run CHKDSK. The networking 
software won't let you run CHKDSK on a 
networked drive, but running it on any lo- 
cal drive will show you the free RAM. 


DOS INCONSISTENCIES 
We run an IBM Token-Ring Network us- 
ing Novell software and an IBM PC AT 
file server. When we set up our system , we 
did not create a DOS partition on the serv- 
er’s drives. 

Subsequently we added an AST Turbo- 
Laser printer to the file server. The AST 
printer’s interface board is installed in the 
file server and is initialized with a DOS 
program before NetWare is loaded. We 
did not want to reformat our drives, so we 
decided to boot from a floppy disk. 

We had been running DOS 3.2 on the 
workstations without a problem, but when 
we tried to boot the file .server from a flop- 
py disk using DOS 3 .2, we were able to ac- 
complish it only about one time out of five 
or six tries. After many attempts to solve 
the problem and several calls to Novell, it 
was suggested we try DOS 3.1. That cured 
the problem. There seems to be something 
in DOS 3.2 that doesn’t quite click with 
Novell. 

Floyd Petersen 

Loma Linda, California 

/ printed your letter. Mr. Petersen, be- 
cause T ve heard rumors of this incompati- 
bility before. However. I walked into the 
Connectivity Labs and booted our Novell 
server (an 8-MHz IBM PC AT) under IBM 



SolvelfouT 

Compatibilily Problems 
WitbLAPLINK. 

We’ve just cut ^urdisk problems down to size. With LAPLINK'and new 
LAPLINK PLUS.* Thev can connect your new IBM PS/2 or laptop with your desktop 
PC, and with just a few l^ystiokes. instantly transfer hies, directories or entire disks at 
incredible speeds of up to 115,000 baud. 

LAPLINK* even sets up in seconds without complicated DOS commands or new 
configurations and connects any combination of IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or compatible 
computers running^MS-IX)S 2.xX or 3.XX. 

That’s more THE NEW LAPLINK PLUS* version includes an easy to install 
device driver that allows for direct disk and printer sharing so it works like a two com- 
puter network. Take a short cut to disk compatibility by picking up LAPLINK * or new 
LAPLINK PLUS* at your local computer store today. 

LAPLINK* is still only $129.95, LAPLINK PLUS* $139.95. (Including universal 
cables). Fora free Laotqpacces- ^ r 

Travehn^^^oftware 

CIRCLE 223 ON READER SERVICE CARD 

Nonh Creek Corporate Center • 19310 North Creek Parkway • Bothell, WA 98011 « 1-800-343-8080 > 206-483-8088 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
326 



PRODUCTIVITY 


PC-DOS 3.2 ten times without a problem. 
I assume you tried different DOS 3.2 boot 
diskettes to eliminate incompatibilities be- 
tH een drive and diskette? Have any other 
readers had problems running a Novell 
server under DOS 3.2? 

I will add that we regularly experience 
problems with DOS 3.3 in disk format ac- 
tivities. Our machines stay loaded with 
PC-DOS 3.1. 


PC LAN FORM-FEED CORRECTED 

We have had several rounds of comments 
discussing the waste of printed forms 
caused by the sometimes unwanted final 
form feeds in IBM's PC Local Area Net- 
work Program. Here is the answer. 

IBM has just made available an update for 
its PC LAN Program, called Version 1.23. 
It has an option on the Net Share command 
to prevent forms from being wasted with 


UAUC That's what PC Magazine had to say about 

I UU ilHWt nPC-Fiie-l-, and nowthis powerful database 
TDC AT program is even better; NEW! 

I IlkHI UUlWlllaU Graphsto help you make your 
point. Includes: pie, bar, line, scatter, and smoothed average. NEW! 
8087/80287 math coprocessor support tor lightning fast operation. 
NEW! Expanded record and field lengths hold more data. 

With PC-File-i- version 2.0 you get these and 26 other additions to the 
database that is already the favorite of over half-a-million users. 

Why do people like PC-File-r so much? It’s affordable (just $69.95). 
Technical support is excellent (just call). And its features (on-line help, 10 
sort levels, labeling, and mail merge, just to name a few) rival those of 
products that cost 5 times as much. 
SotreatyourselfandgivePC-File+atrytoday.Call 
^ 1 .800. J BUTTON for the name of the dealer nearest 

you. (In WA: 206. 454.0479.) 

PC-File+. Just $69.95 for a product that should cost 
hundreds. 


'"Affordable, high perbjrmance software is possible. All it takes is 
true commitment to customers. “—Jim Button 



luttoiMire 


ButtonWare, Ina, P.O. Box 5786, Bellevue, WA 
98006. 206.454.0479 


ORCLE 494 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


■ PC LAN Program's 
update prevents forms 
from being wasted with 
end-of-job page ejects. 


end-of-job page ejects. Contact your IBM 
rep and ask for Item 072MD. the latest ver- 
sion of PCLP. Ask for it in 3'/2- or S'A- 
inch disk sizes, as needed. 

Michael W. Butler 
Concord. California 


NETWORK YOUR QIDSTIONS 

Connectivity Clinic gives you practical so- 
lutions to networking problems of all 
types. We'll pay $50 or more for any tips 
we print, plus an extra $25 if you submit 
your letter on a disk, and we'll gladly an- 
swer any questions you have, at no charge. 
We’re sorry, but we’re unable to answer 
letters personally. 

Mail your contributions to Connectivity 
Clinic, PC Magazine, One Park Avenue, 
New York, NY 10016, or you may contact 
Frank J. Derfler, Jr., via MCI Mail (be 
sure to use Derfler’s box named CON- 
NECTIVITY CLINIC). sh; 


The closer you look, 
the hotter inre get. 

Iky Automenu'' and you'll quickly see why it's becoming the industiy 
standard for a menu system. Here are Just a few of the reasons ; 



Network compatible. 

Multi-level password protection. 
Ability to prompt for information 
to be pass^ as parameters to pro- 
grams and batch files. 

Automatic execution of any menu 
selection at pre-selected times. 
Unlimited number of men\js and 
menu selections. 

Non memory-resident. 

Mouse, U^t pen and voice support. 
Fast and Small. Assembler-based 
and fits in less than 20K. 

Tly Automenu' at our risk. It’s only $60 
for a complete, registered version, and 
we offer a money-beick guarantee. 

Call or write to place your order / 

now. Dealer inquiries welcome. Visa and MC accepted. UjjSwrioiy 

Automena'— the first mexm ssrstem and still the best. ^ 



MAGEE ENTERPRISES 

6577 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard 
Norcross, Georgia 30092-3796 USA 
404-446-661 1/CompuServe 70167 2200 
PAX 404-446-7434/BBS 404-446-6650 


e Copyngn 1981 1966 >f 


« Al Higw n » t »«v<a Aulorwwiu* Kx3 Magw EnW n y o lego mt al Mage* Fmypnaet 


CIRCLE 306 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


PC MAGAZINE a MARCH2 9. 1988 
yii 





HOW 10 SUCCESSrULLY BUY 
THROUGH MAIl ORDER 
AND PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS 


Mail order sales are governed 
by rules of the Federal Trade 
Commission (FTC) and vari- 
ous state laws. These guide- 
lines are published as a service 
to you. Remembei; the many 
vendors advertising in 
PC Magazine are eager to 
serve your needs. 


FTC rules say; 

1. The Seller must ship 
your order within 30 days 
of receiving it, unless the 
advertisement dearly 
states it'll take longer. 

2. If it appears that your 
order will not be shipped 
when promised, the Seller 
must notify you in writing 
in advance of the prom- 
ised date, giving a definite 
new date, if known, and 
offering you the opportu- 
nity to cancel the order 
with a refund or consent to 
a definite delayed ship- 
ping date or an indefinite 
delay. 

3. The Seller's notice must 
contain a stamped self- 
addressed card or enve- 
lope with which you can 
indicate your preference. If 
you don't respond to this 
notice, the Seller may 
assume you agree to the 
delay, but must either ship 
or cancel your order withm 
30 days after the original 


shipping date promised or 
required. A prompt refund 
must be made when an 
order is cancelled. 

4. Even if you've con- 
sented to an indefinite 
delay, you retain the right 
to cancel the order at any 
time before the item has 
been shipped. 

5. If you choose to cancel 
an order, that has been 
paid for by check or money 
order, the Seller must mail 
you a refund within seven 
Dusiness days. If you can- 
cel an order for which you 
paid by credit card, the 
seller must credit your 
account within one billing 
cycle following receipt of 
your request. Store credits 
or vouchers in place of a 
refund are not acceptable. 

6. In the event that the 
item you ordered is 
unavailable, the Sellermay 
not send you substitute 
merchandise without your 
express consent. 


TIPS WHEN ORDERING 
When ordering by mail: 

State precisely what mer- 
chandise you want, specify- 
ing details such as model, 
make, size, component parts, 
etc.; 

Confirm the price and 
expected delivery date as 
stated in the ad; 

Indicate whether you will 
accept a substitute product if 
the item you ordered is 
unavailable, and, if not, that 
your payment should be 
returned; 

Don't send cash, you will 
have no record of payment if 
a problem arises, and; 

Keep a copy of your order 
and all other correspondence 
with the Seller. Your records 
should include the compa- 
ny's name, address and 
phone number; a description 
of the item ordered; your can- 
celled check or a copy of the 
money order; record of the 
date you mailed the order; 
and any sales slips and ship- 
ping receipts. 

When ordering by phone: 

Note the time and date of 
your conversation and the 
name of the person you talk 
with; 

Make a record of your 
order, the price, its promised 
availability and the compo- 
nents to be expected; 

Save all correspondence 
associated with your order, 
including your cancelled 
check or a copy of the money 
order, and any written confir- 
mation sent the Seller. 

Questions you should con- 
sider asking; 

Does the advertised item 
come with all necessary parts 
and accessories? Are they 
from the same manufacturer? 

Is it available for immediate 
shipping?. If not, when will 


it be available? 

Has there been an increase 
in the advertised price? 

What warranties does the 
item carry? Who provides the 
service? 

What is the Seller's return 
policy? 

What is the Seller's refund 
policy? 

With whom should you 
correspond if there is a 
problem? 

IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS: 

1. If you have not received 
your order as promised or if 
the item is defective, itiunedi- 
ately notify the Seller in writ- 
ing referring to your order by 
description, price, date, as 
well as by account number 
and order number, if availa- 
ble. Make sure you keep a 
copy of the letter. 

2. If you complain by tele- 
phone, send a follow-up let- 
ter to confirm what was said. 

3. If you think the merchan- 
dise is defective, reread your 
product instructions and 
your Wciiranty carefully to be 
sure you don't expect features 
or performance the product 
isn't designed to give. Then 
contact the Seller for instruc- 
tions. Don't return it to the 
Seller until you have been 
instructed to do so. 

4. When returning merchan- 
dise make sure you keep the 
shipper's receipt or pactung 
slip; your right to be reim- 
bursed for postal cost is deter- 
mined by store policy. 

5. If you have completely dis- 
cuss^ your problem with 
the Seller and are still not sat- 
isfied, write to the consumer 
complaint agency in the 
Seller's state. If you paid for 
the merchandise by credit 
card, you may have rights to 
withhold payment under a 
Federal law called the Fair 
Credit Billing Act. 


PC Magazine's Direct Marketing 

Connection and Services 





’Starch Study, July 


The following fjnk 
special section, 

PC Magazine's Direct 
Marketing Connection, \ 
is v^at you've been \ 
demanding. It connects 
you with the direct mar- 
keters who are anxious to 
please you. By having them all 
in one place, you can quickly zero 
in on the products you need from 
vendors you want to buy through. 




For many of you, mail order is your primary means 
of purchasing PC products and services. 

In fact, in recent interviews with our 
subscribers, we learned that 70% 
bought PC products and services 
through direct marketing channels 
during the past year.* 

You buy direct because it's con- 
venient, because you know 
exactly what you want and 
don't need any 
hand-holding. 


ORDER HOTLINE 

ai 5-592-8097 


U«il OfM* E)a«lraMC» ■ WortOoiM 


ameco 


ELECTRONICS 


IBM PC/XT/AT 
Compatible 
Cards 


Graphic Display Cards 

JE1050 Mono Graphics Card w/Printer Port (PC/XT/AT) . . $59.95 


Mail-Order Electronics 


ALL OTHER INQUIRIES 

415-592-8121 



JE1052 Color Graphics Card w/Printer Port (PC/XT/AT) . . $49.95 


EGA Card with 256K Video RAM 

JE1055 and Printer Port (PC/XT/ AT) $149.95 


Seagate 20,30,40 
and 60MB Half Height 

HarH Diftk DrivcMS 




Hard Disk Drives siaasKtnca™, 

ST225 20MB Drive only (PC/XT/AT) S 2 6 9. 96 $259.95 

ST225K 20MB with Controller {PC/XT) $3 1 9 .9 6 $289.95 

30MB Drive only (PC/XT/AT) 

ST238 (RLL Controller Needed) $299.95 

ST238K 30MB vrith Controller (PC/XT/AT) $330:96 $329.95 

ST251 40MB Drive only (PC/XT/AT) $469:96 $439.95 

ST251xr 40MB with Controller Card (PC/XT) . . . $649:96 $499.95 

ST251AT 40MB with Controller Card (AT) $68 9. 96 $589.95 

60MB Drive only (PC/XT/AT) 

ST277 (RLL Controller Needed) $549.95 

ST277K 60 MB with RLL Controller Card (AT) $659.95 


Multi I/O with Drive Controller 

JE1071 and Mono Graphics (PC/XT) $119.95 


Multifunction, I/O and Expansion Cards 

I/O Card with Serial, Game, Parallel Printer 
JE1060 Port and Real Time Clock (PC/XT) . . . . $59.95 


IBM PC/XT/AT Compatible 
Floppy Disk Drives 


JE1022j 


JE1020 360K (PC/XT/AT) Oive IBIk. Bezel) $89.95 
JE1021 360K (PC/XT/AT) Drive (Beige Bezel! $89.95 
JE1022 1.2MB (AT) Drive (Beige Bezel) . . . $109.95 



JE1061 RS232 Serial Half Card (PC/XT/ AT) $29.95 


I/O Card with Serial, Game and 
JE1065 Parallel Printer Port (AT) 


I $59.95 


Expand to 364K (includes zero-K) Multifunction 
with Serial. Game. Parallel Printer Port and 
JE1078 Real Time Clock (PC/XT) $79.95 


Fioppy and Hard Disk Controller Cards 
JE1040 360KB Roppy Disk Drive Controller Card (PC/XT) $29.95 


JE1041 20/40MB Hard Disk Controller Card (PC/XT) . . . $79.95 


JE1043 360K/720K/1 .2MB Roppy Disk Coni. (PC/XT/AT) $49.95 


IBM PC/XT/AT Compatible Monitors 

12" Amber Monochrome - 

TTL Input, High Resolution 

AMBER $499:95 $99.95 

14" RGB Color— CGA Compatible Amber/Green/ 

Color Switchabte, 640x200 Resolution 

TTX1410 $279.95 

1 4" EGA Color-EGA/CGA Compatible. 720 x 350 
(max) Resolution 

TE5154 $399.95 

14' UHrascan Color - CGA/EGA/PGC/VGA 
Compatible, 800 x 560 (max.) Resolution 

4375M $ 570.05 $549.95 



TS5154 


360K/720K/1 .2MB Roppy/Hard Disk 
JE1045 Controller Card (AT) $159.95 


RAM, V20 and Intel Math Coprocessors 

4164-1S0 65,536x1 (150ns) $2.49 

41256-120 262.144x1 (120ns) $6.49 

41256-150 262,144x1 (150ns) $5.95 

UPD70108-5 (5MHz) V20 Chip (Replaces BOSS) $7.49 

UPD70108-8 (8MHz) V20 Chip (Replaces 8088 or 8088-2) $8.95 

8087-2 Math Coproc. PC/XT and Compat (8MHz). . . . $159.95 
80287-10 Math Coproc. AT and Compat. (10MHz) $309.95 


IBM PC/XT/AT Compatible Keyboards 

• Tactile touch keyswrtches 

• Switch selectable fil M f t IbAftfeill I t 

between PC/^ or AT ._i F r r I- f- 1 F I f' I t tsukiautSMAk 

• Illuminated CepsLock, ikf ft UCtP, 

’ Manual Included 

JE1015 JE1 01 « Pictured $59.95 


* Enhanced keyboard layout • 12 function keys * Illuminated LEO indicators for 
Num Lock, Caps Lock and Scroll Lock • Separate cursor pad * Switch select- 
able between PC/XT or AT • Manual included 

JEieie $79.95 


Additional IBM PC/ XT/ AT Add-Ons Amilablel 


JAMECO COMPUTER KITS Proeaaalng SoHwara Includad! 



Jameco’s 4.77/8MHz Turbo 
IBM PC/XT Compatible KH 

Pwl No. Paacripikin Price 


4164-ISO 

41256-150 

JE1010 

JC101S 

4E1030 

JE1020 

AMBER 

JE1001 




126K RAM (18 CMps) $44.62 

512K RAM (18 CMpe) $107.10 

FMp-lbp Casa. $04.95 

XT/AT Style Keyboerd $59.95 

150 WM Power Supply $69.95 

sy>“ DSDO Disk Drive. $89.95 

12* Amber Monitor. $99.95 

4.77/8MHZ Ibrbo Motherboard 
(Zero^ RAM — Inciudee Award 

BIOS ROM's) $99.95 

Mulb I/O wMh ContfoNar 

arMt Orephics. .$119.95 


SAVE $120,021 Beg. Ust $720.07 

JE1 995 (IBM- PC/XT Turbo Compatible Kit) $599.95 



Jameco’s IBM" AT Compatible 
Mini-286 6/8/19/12 MHz KH! 


Pert No. 


Deecriptlon 


JE1043 360K/720«C/1.2M8 Floppy ConboL.... $4945 

JC1015 Xr/AT Style Keyboard $59.95 

41256-120 512KRAM(16Chipe) $116.82 

.^1017 Baby AT Rip-lbp Case. $69.95 

JC1032 200W Power Supply $89.95 

JE1022 SVHi|8iOene)ty Disk Drive. $109.95 

JE1007 Beby AT Motherboerd (Zero-K RAM 
Inciudee Awerd BIOS ROM'e) $$49.95 

$ 4 »?s Beg. Umt $040.02 

$AVE $00,071 

■6— —■ H I I — not irtduded) 

JE1009 IBM"* AT Compatible Kit $749.95 






All above computer accessories may also be pur^ased individualh/t 


U.S. Funds Only 
Shipping: Add 5% + $1 .50 Insurance 

(Mey very ecc otdktg to weight) 

California Residents: 

Add 6%. or 7% Sales Tax 
FAX 415-592-2503 
4/88 


$20.00 Minimum Order 

IBM ie e regie te red trede me rk of I n ter roe booel Buekwee Meehktee 




J 


ameco 


ELECTRONICS 


WS4' 


Prices Subject to Change 

Send $1 .00 Postage for a 
FREE 1988 CATALOG 
Telex: 176043 

c 196$ Jameco Electrorucs 


1355 SHOREWAY ROAD. BELMONT, CA 94002 • FOR ORDERS ONLY 415-S92-8097 • ALL OTHER INQUIRIES 415-592-8121 


CIRCLE 346 ON READER SERVICE CARD 







'k NEC MULTISPEED ^ 


Multispeed EL 1469 

* NEW Multitpeed HD with 20MB 2249 * 

★ LOTUS ★ 

SYMPHONY 3.5''/Wllh Any Laptop 349/300 

METRO 3.S"/Wllh Any Laptop 69/49 


★ PLUS HARD CARD 20/40 . . . 



★ TOSHIBA ★ 

T1000 799 T1200 

T31 00/20 

★ NEC ★ 

New Multisync II Model 1402 

P2200 Parallel Printer 


2199 

2899 


599 

339 


509/729 ★ TOSHIBA 321SL/341SL . . . 479/649 ★ 


SYSTEMS 

PRINTERS 

MONITORS 

DISPLAY CARDS 

NEC MultiSpeed EL 1469 

MultiSpeed HD w/20 MB 2249 

1200/2400 Int Modem 279/379 

With Laptop 250/340 

NEC Carrying Case 99 

With Laptop 80 

Extra Nicad Battery 99 

With Laptop 80 

TOSHIBA T1000 799 

T1200 w/carry case 2199 

T3120w/carry case 2099 

Toshiba 3200 CALL 

Toshiba 5100 CALL 

Toshiba Ext 5.25" Floppy 379 

With any Lap top 350 

1200 Bd Int Modem 329 

With Laptop 300 

Toshiba Floppy Link 169 

With Laptop 150 

T3100 Numeric Keypad 90 

With Laptop 80 

Toshiba Carry Case 99 

With Laptop 70 

Brooklyn Bridge/w Laptop . . 99/80 
Lapiink Plus /with Laptop . . 109/90 

ALPS PRINTERS 

* ALO 200 Color, Narrow 

18 pin, 200/100 cps $419 

24 pin. 240/120 cps 479 

* ALQ 300 Color. Wide 

18 pin, 200/100 cps 619 

24 pin, 240/120 cps 679 

Tractor ALQ200/300 75/95 

Ribbon ALQ Black/Color ...15/20 

* P2000 9 pin, 250/125 cps, Wide 

Ser & Par w/T ractor 699 

* P2100 18 pin, 400/200 cps. Wide 

Ser & Par w/T factor 1129 

* P2400 Color. Wde w/Tractor 

18 pin, 250/125 cps 929 

24 pin, 360/180 cps 979 

* DICONIX InkJet Paralltl * 

150 w/3' parallel caWt 319 

With any LapTop 300 

300 w/T parallel cable 529 

With any Laptop 500 

* NEC P2200 - Par 339 * 

* P-6 Par 429 * 

* CP6 Colof - Par 509 * 

* P7 • Par 569 * 

• LOGITECH AutoSync 499* 

With Logitech EGA & Mouse . . 649 

With Genoa HiRes 679 

With Paradise VGA Plus 759 

With Vega VGA 779 

MITSUBISHI 1410 EGA 399 

• AUM 1371 Diamond Scan . 499 * 

With ATI VIP 759 

Wilh Everex EVGA 779 

With Genoa HiRes 679 

Wilh Paradise VGA Plus 759 

With Paradise VGA Pro 899 

With Vega VGA 779 

• Diamond Scan Tilt 8 Swivel 20 * 

• NEC Multisync 11-1402 ...599 * 

With ATI VIP 059 

With Everex EVGA 879 

With Genoa HiRes 779 

With Paradise VGA Plus 059 

With Paradise VGA Pro 999 

With Vega VGA 079 

• NEC MuHiSync Plus 899 * 

With ATI VIP 1159 

With Genoa HiRes 1079 

With Paradise VGA Plus 1159 

With Paradise VGA Pro 1299 

With Vega VGA 1179 

•SONY 131 1CR-13'TrlnltronColor * 

• Remota TV 8 RGB Monitor 499 * 

Sony 1311 to IBM Cable 20 

• SONY Mulllscan 1302 . . . . 599 * 

With ATI VIP 059 

With Genoa HiRes 779 

With Paradise VGA Plus 659 

With Paradise VGA Pro 999 

With Vega VGA 879 

Sony 1302 to IBM Cable 20 

Sony 1302 to MAC II Cable .... 30 

• TAXAN 770 MultIVision phis 499 * 

With 557 Gold Card 679 

With 570 Advance EGA 659 

ZENITH ZCM 1490 Flat Screen 669 

With Vega VGA 949 

With Zenith Z-449 949 

ATI EGA Wonder Enhanced . . 219 

With Multi Scan Monitor 170 

ATI ViP/with Monitor 309/260 

BOCA EGA/with Monitor . 169/130 
GENOA SuperEQA HiRes* ... 229 

With Multi ^an Monitor 180 

LOGITECH EGA Card & Mouse 249 

With Multi Scan Monitor 200 

PARADISE AutoSwitch 480 ... . 199 

With Multi Scan Monitor 150 

PARADISE VGA Plus 309 

With Multi Scan Monitor 260 

Paradise VGA Professional . . . 449 

With Multi Scan Monitor 400 

TAXAN 557 Gold Card 199 

With Multi Scan Monitor 160 

Taxan 570 Advance EGA 199 

With Multi Scan Monitor 160 

VIDEO-7 Vega Deluxe 249 

With Multi Scan Monitor 200 

Vega VGA/with Monitor . . 329/280 

ZENITH Z-449 329 

With Multi Scan Monitor 280 

DRIVES 

KEYBOARD/MOUSE 

* All Drives Shown Are Internal * 
FUJITSU/TEAC 90 day warranty 

360k/1 2 Mb 99/129 

Grey Face Plate • Add 5 

SEAGATE: For PC/XT HALF HT 

* PRO PACK 20/30 MB . 259/279 * 
Fully Pretested. PRO PACK includes 
controller, cables, detailed & 
illustrated 100 page manual and 
format/utility sw.One year warranty. 
PC/XT Mtng Kit & Filler Plate . . 10 

* For AT w/partitioning software • 

* 40 MB Half HI 40 ma 429 * 

* 40 MB Half HI 28 ma 479 * 

AT Mounting Kit 10 

Uni-Di Tractor for P2/P6 60 

Bi-Di Tractor for P2/P6 160 

Uni-Di Tractor for P3/P7 80 

Bi-Di Tractor tor P3/P7 170 

Cut Sheet Feeder for P2200 ... 120 
Cut Sheet Feeder for P2/P6 . . . 230 
Cut Sheet Feeder for P3/P7 . . . 290 

* OKIDATA 192 PLUS IBM . 299 * 

* 193 PLUS IBM 419 * 

* TOSHIBA 321 8L 479 * 

* 341 SL 649 * 

* 351 SX 999 * 

* 351 Color Model II 1099* 

Cut sheet feeder for 321 SL . . . 279 
KENSINGTON Printer Stand ... 20 

* with Printer 10 * 

KEYTRONIC 101 Keys for IBM PC. 
XT. AT with Function Keys on top 
row. seperale Cursor Control 
Keypad and Numeric Keypad . . 69 

LOGITECH: Bus orSer 79 

All Logi Mice include PLUS Software 

* PS/2 Mouse 79 • 

Publisher Mouse: Ser or Bus . . 129 

LogiPaint/LogiCadd 20/50 

MICROSOFT MOUSE But Of Sef 

* With Paint Brush 8 Show Partner * 

Version 6 or Higher 119 

MOUSE SYSTEMS PC Mouse 

* With Designer PopUp Menu * 

*** LIFE TIME WARRANTY •** 
Serial or Bus 99 

HARD DRIVE CARDS 

BACKUP 

MODEMS 

POWER 

MOUNTAIN DRIVE CARDS 

20 MB 499 

30 MB 569 

* PLUS HARD CARD • 

20 MB - Single Slot 509 

40 MB - Single Slot 759 

WESTERN DIGITAL FILE CARD 

Includes Fastback & X-TREE sw 

20 MB FileCard 1 1/2 slots 399 

30 MB FileCard 1 1/2 slots .... 429 

ARCHIVE: QIC 40. Uses DC 2000 

* 40 MB Internal XT/AT .... 329 * 

* 40 MB Exiamal XT/AT .... 439 * 
MOUNTAIN: QIC 40. Uses DC 2000 

* 40 MB Internal XT/AT .... 379 * 

* 40 MB External XT/AT . . . . 469 * 
EVEREX 60MB w/OIC 02 controller 

* Uses CT600; Inl/Ext . . 629/729 * 

Uses DC600: Int/Ext 849/949 

DC 2000 Single/Box of 5 .. 25/110 
CT600/DC6(» One/FNe . . . 30/135 

AMT 2400 Int w/sw 149 

EVEREX 1200 Int vr/BitCom .... 95 
2400 w BitCom Int/Ext .... 185/199 
HAYES 12006/1200 Ext ... 239/299 

For SmartCom II Add 50 

NOVATION Parrot 1200 Ext ... 109 
PROMETHEUS 2400G ext .... 199 
TOUCHBA8E SYSTEMS 

World Port 1200/2400 149/299 

With any Laptop 140/260 

ZOOM HC 2400 Int w/8W ... 149 

REPLACEMENT POWER SUPPLIES 

PC XT 150/AT 200 Watts . . $69/99 

DATASHIELD 

300 Watts Backup 399 

* 350 Turbo Backup 449 * 

500/800 Watts Backup .... 549/649 

* NEW Solid State 3 * Hi UPS * 

SS 400/700 Watts UPS .... 649/779 

KENSINGTON Masterpiece .... 99 

* Masterpiece Plus 109 * 

* Masterpiece Remote 109 * 


★ SEAGATE PRO PACK 20/30MB . .u; ~ . . 259/279 ★ 


MATH/RAM CHIPS 


•4K RAM 120 ns Set Of 9 $25 

2S6K RAM 120 ns Set of 9 50 

80i7-3 PC/XT 5 Mhz 115 

•087-2 PC/XT 8 Mhz 145 

80287-6 AT 6 Mhz 169 

80287-8 AT 8 Mhz 239 

•0287-10 AT 10 Mhz 289 

80387-16 for 386 Machines .... 489 


★ FREE DELIVERY ★ 

* PREPAID ORDERS IN CONTINENTAL USA ONLY * 

Simply mail the check for the exact amount (CA add 6%) as shown here with 
your order. We will ship your order UPS Ground. FREE of any other charges It is 
that simple (aedit card orders are not considered prepaid). Bank check orders 
shipped immediately- Personal/Co checks delay shipment 2/3 weeks. 


SUPER SPECIALS 


* PREPAID BY CHECK ONLY * 

* POSTMARKED BY APR 25. 1888 * 
MICROSOFT MOUSE Bus or Ser 

* With Paint Brush 8 StH>w Partner * 

Version 6 or Higher 99 

TOSHIBA 3218L w/ par cable . 485 
TOSHIBA 341SL w/ par cable . 655 
PLUS HARD CARO 40 MB 699 


FOREIGN ORDERS 


COD * AMEX - OPTIMA * DISCOVER * MC * VISA 


* APO * FPO * 



PLEASE REFER TO AO # PC 823 


MONITOR STANOS 
MOOEL MS-100 S12.95| 

I • TILTS & SWIVELS • STURDY PLASTIC CONSTRUCTION I 

MOOEL MS-200 $39.9Sl 

• TILTS ANO SWIVELS • BUILT-IN SURGE SUPRESSOR I 
I • BUILT IN POWER STATION INDEPENDENTLY CONTROLS f 
I UP TO 5 120 VOLT AC OUTLETS • UL APPROVED | 


MONITORS 
SAMSUNG 
MONOCHROME 


• IBM COMPATIBLE TTL 
INPUT 

• 12" NON GLARE. 

LOW DISTORTION. 
AMBER SCREEN 

• RES: 720 ■ 3S0 

• SWIVEL BASE 

• t YEAR WARRANTY 

$129.95 
I MULTISYNC 


OISK ORIVES 

S'/i" SEAGATE HARD DISK DRIVES 

I ST-225 HALF HEIGHT 20MB 6Sms $259 

I ST-238 HALF HEIGHT 30MB 65ms |RLL) $299 
I ST-251 HALF HEIGHT 40MB 40ms $469 

I ST-277 HALF HEIGHT 60MB 40ms (RLL) $649 
I ST 4038 FULL HEIGHT 30MB 40ms $559 

1 ST-4096 FULL HEIGHT 80MB 28ms $895 


$599.95 


r NASHUA UlSKETTES 1 

1 BOKES OF 10 

S<« DS/0D SOFT SECTOR 

SVa" DSDD360K *9** 

1 yit" DS HD I.2M *24** 

49Cea 39Cea 

DS OD720K *16” 

BULKQTT50 flULKQTT250 J 


• ORIGINAL CGA EGA PGA COMPATIBLE MONITOR 

• AUTO FREQUENCY ADJUSTMENT 

• RESOLUTION AS HIGH AS BOO s 560 


EGA 


$399.95 


• 15 75 21 85 KHi SCANNING FREQUENCIES 

• RES 640 K 200 350 • .31m(n DOT PITCH | 

I • 14" BLACK MATRIX SCREEN • 16 COLORS FROM 64 


r 5V4" diskette storage file $8.95 ] 

• HOLDS 70 S' FLOPPIES 

• STURDY. ATTRACTIVE 
SMOKED ACRYLIC CASE 

I • COMPLETE WITH HINGED 
DIVIDERS 


RG6 


$279.95 



I • COLOR GREEN AMBER SWITCH • RES. 640 » 240 

• RGB IBM COMPATIBLE • 14" NON-GLARE SCREEN 
39mm DOT PITCH • CABLE FOR IBM PC INCLUDED 


VERSION FOR SVi" 
FLOPPIES AVAILABLE 
$9.95 


2 WAY SWITCH BOKES $39.95 

. CONNECT 2 PRINTERS TO 1 COMPUTER OR VICE VERSA 

• SERIAL a PARALLEL MODELS AVAILABLE 

• ALL LINES SWITCHED 

• GOLD PLATED CONNECTORS a QUAUTY SWITCHES 


MONOCHROME 8YSAI 

• IBM COMPATIBLE TTL INPUT 
■ 12" NON GLARE GREEN SCREEN 
L • CABLE FOR IBM PC INCLUDED 


$69.95 




6' INTERFACE CABLES 

I MEETS FCC REQUIREMENTS ICXFo SHIELDED I 


IBM COMPATIBLE PARALLEL PRINTER 
CENTRONICS (MALE TO FEMALE) 
CENTRONICS IMALE TO MALE) 

IBM COMPATIBLE MODEM CABLE 
RS232 SERIAL (MALE TO FEMALEi 
RS232 SERIAL IMALE TO MALE ) 

L COILED KEYBOARD EXTENDER 


•9 95 

• 1595 

• 14 95 
•795 
•9 95 
•9 95 
•7 95 J 


U.S. AND CANADA 


20MB HARDDISK ONACAR^ 


fjOYSTICK 

. SET X V AXIS FOR AUTQ 

Trn 

CENTER OR FREE MOVE 

MENT ^ 

• FIRE BUTTON FOR USE 

1 WITH GAME SOFTWARE I 

K''- 

. INCLUDES ADAPTOR 1>«w ^ 

1 CABLE FOR IBM 

- -- 1 


• SAVES SPACE ANO REDUCES 
POWER CONSUMPTION 

• IDEAL FOR PCs WITH FULL 
HEIGHT FLOPPIES 

• LEAVES ROOM FOR A HALF 
LENGTH CARD IN ADJACENT 
SLOT 


$349 


SWITCHING POWER SUPPLIES 
I PS-135 $59.95 


• rORIBM XT COMPATIBLE 

• UL APP. 135 WATTS 

• -SV ISA. '12V 4 2A 
SV SA. t2V 5A 

• ONE YEAR WARRANTY 

I PS* 150 ■ ^69» 


P$-200 


$89.95 


• FOR IBM AT COMPATIBLE 

• 200 WATTS 

• 5V 22A. 12V 8A 
SV 5A. 12V 5A 

• ONE YEAR WARRANTY 


PSA 


$49.95 




• FOR APPLE TYPE SYSTEM 

• 5V 6A. 12V 3A 
SV 1A. 12V 1A 

• APPLE CONNECTOR 

I PS-1558 $34.95 

. TSWATTS.ULAPPROVEO 

• BY POWER SYSTEMS 

• -5V 7A. '12V 3A 

12V 350mA. 5 300mA 


RITEMAN II PRINTER 


• 160 CPS DRAFT. 32 CPS NLQ MODE 

• SUPPORTS EPSON IBM 
GRAPHICS 

• 9a9 DOT MATRIX 

• FRICTION ANO 
PIN FEEDS 

• VARIABLE LINE 
SPACING a PITCH 

IBM COMPATIBLE PAINTER CABLE 
AEPUCEMENT RIBBON CARTRID6E 


$21995 


59.95 

57.95 J 


V2 HEIQHT FLOPPY OISK ORIVES 


i'. " TEAC FO-55B DS DD 360K 
i'«'’TEACFO-55FOS QUAD 720K 
i' < ’ TEAC FO-55G DS HD 1 2M 
>> 4 " FUJITSU IVI2S51A OS DO 360K 
)' 4 " FUJITSU IVI2553K DS HD 1 2M 
I' 4 " OS OD 360K 
DS HD 1.2M 

I' MITSUBISHI OS ODIATORXTI 

DISK DRIVE ACCESSORIES 

7 HT MOUNTING HARDWARE FOR IBM 
I MOUNTING RAILS FOR IBM AT 
I Y POWER CABLE FOR S' FDDs 
' FDD POWER CONNECTORS 

DRIVE ENCLOSURES 

WITH POWER SUPPLIES 

I CAB-2SVS DUAL SLIMLINE FOR S' 4 " 
CAB-1FH5 FULL HEIGHT FOR S ' 4 ' 
CAB-2SV8 DUAL SLIMLINE FOR 8" 

L CAB-2FH8 DUAL FULL HEIGHT FOR 8 ' 


$99 95 
$119 95 
$129 95 
$89 9S 
$119.95 
$69.95 
$109 95 
$129.95 


$2.95 
$4 95 
$2 95 
$1.19 


$49.95 
$69.95 
$209 95 
$21995 


EASYDATA MODEMS 

All models feature auto-diaianswer redial on busy, 
power up sell lest, louchtone or pulse dialing, built-in 
speaker. Hayes and Bell Systems 103 A 212A com- 
patible. lull or half duplex. PC Talk III Communica- 
tions software with internal models and more 


INTERNAL 


12H 

1200 BAUD % CARD 

$69.95 

24B 

2400 BAUD FULL CARD 

$179.95 


EXTERNAL 



iNO SOFTWARE tNCLUDEDi 


120 

1200 BAUD 

$119.95 

24D 

2400 BAUD 

$219.95 


COMPUTER CASES 

I Attractive, sturdy steel cases hi the popular sued 
I motherboards and include speakers, lacep'ales. 

I expansion slots and all necessary hardware 


KT STYLE FLIP-TOP $34.95 
I XT STYLE SLIDE-TOP $39.95 
I AT STYLE SLIDE-TOP $99.95 

• FRONT PANEL KEYLOCK AND LED INDICATORS 

I JR. AT STYLE FLIP-TOP $149.95 


■ ■ Visit our retail store located at 1256 S. Bascom Ave. in San Jose, (408) 947-8881 

li iH* J ” PLEASE use YOUR CUSTOMEP NUMBER WHEN ORDERING 

II T^RMS: Minmurn order $10.00. For shippmQ arvd handlirig nckide S2.50 kx LJPS 

VVVV 1 I Ground and $3.50 for UPS Air. Ordm over 1 lb. wid foreign orders may require edtWonal 

^ t. $fWPP'ng charge*— please contact our Sales Department tor the amounl CA re al dents 

B I 110 KHOWIGS DnV0y Los GstOSf CA 9S030 must mdude appli ca bl e sales lax. Al merchandise is warranted for 90 days unless 

onn coo CAAA * iAf\Q\ OCSC conn otherwise stated. Pric« are *4*»ect to change without notice Weare not responsible tor 

I Oil rtOO o(X/'&3E^d000 * (4Uo) <K>0^£UU lypographxal emxs. We reserve the rtghi to limit quantities and to substitote manufac- 
CAV /i4 AO\ 0*70 0A07 * XaI.aw -IT-I -HA lurer AR merchandise subfeet to pftor sale. A tui copy ol our terms is avaiabie upon 

PAX (40o) o70*0927 • T©teX 171“1l0 requesL Items pictured may only be repre i e n tative- 

COPYRIGHT 1988 JDR MICRODEVICES 

JOR MICROOEVICES AND THE JDR MICROOEVICES LOGO ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF JDR MICROOEVICES. JDR INSTRUMENTS IS A TRADEMARK OF JDR MICROOEVICES 
IBM IS A TRADEMARK OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION 


110 Knowles Drive, Los Gatos, CA 95030 
Toll Free 800-538-5000 • (408) 866-6200 
FAX (408) 378-8927 • Telex 171-110 



ALL MCT PRODUCTS CARRY A 1 YEAR WARRANTY 


INTERFACE CARDS 

FROM MODULAR CIRCUIT TECHNOLOGY 

* 

” '•‘’I ■ if 


DISPLAY CARDS 

I MCT-MBP MONOCHROME GRAPHICS *59*5 

TRue HBRCUUS COMPATIBILITY SUPPORTS LOTUS I2J 

• SOFTWARE DRIVER ALLOWS COLOR GRAPHICS PROGRAMS TO RUN 

ON A MONOCHROME MONITOR • PARALLEL PRINTER PORT 

I MCT'ESA^’^HANCED graphics AOAPTOrS149^^ 

rOCPc IBM CCMPATiBLS PASSES IBM EGA DIAGNOSTICS 

• 25eK OF VIDEO RAM ALLOWS 640 i 3S0 IN 16 OF 64 COLORS 

• COMPATIBLE WITH COLOR AND MONOCHROME ADAPTORS 

I MCT-Ca COLOR GRAPHICS ADAPTOR $4095 

COMPATIBLE WITH IBM COLOR GRAPHICS STANDARDS 

• SHORT SLOT SUPPORTS RGB. COLOR S COMPOSITE MONOCHROME 

• 640 320 * 200 RESOLUTION. LIGHT PEN INTERFACE 


MCT-MF 


MULTIFUNCTION CARDS 


MULTIFUNCTION 


$7995 


ALL THE fEA TURES Of 6 PACK A T HALE THE PRICE 

• 0-3S4K DYNAMIC RAM USING 4164t 

• SERIAL PARALLEL GAME PORTS. CLOCK CALENDAR 

I MCT-MBMIO MONOGRAPHICS I/O *11985 

TOTAL SYSTEM CONTROL EROM A SINGLE SLOT 

• 2 FLOPPY CONT. SERIAL PARALLEL GAME PORT. CLOCK CAL 

• RUN COLOR GRAPHICS SOFTWARE ON A MONOCHROME MONITOR 


MCT-MIO 


MULTI I/O FLOPPY 


*79*5 


A PERPECT COMPAN'ON FOR OUR MOTHERBOARDS 

• SERIAL PARAUEL GAME PORT. CLOCK CALENDAR 

• SUPPORTS UP TO 2 360K FLOPPIES. 720K WITH DOS 3.2 

MIO-SERIAL 2nd SERIAL PORT <15* 

I MCT-IO MULTI I/O CARO 95995 

USE with MCT-FH FOR a MINIMUM OF SLOTS USED 

• SERUL PORT, CLOCK CALENDAR WITH A BATTERY BACK-UP 

• PARALLEL PRINTER PORT ADDRESSABLE AS LPT1 OR LPT2 

IO>SER(AL 2nd SERIAL PORT >15** 

I MCT-KTMF AT MULTIFUNCTION * 139>5 1 

ADDS UP TO 3 MEGABYTES OF RAM TO THE AT 

• USER EXPANDABLE TO 1.S MB OF MEMORY (ZERO K INSTALLED) 

• INCLUDES SERIAL PORT AND PARAUEL PORT 

ATMF-SERIAL 2nd SERIAL PORT >24*> 

MCT-ATMF-MC PIGGYBACK BOARD (NO MEMORY) •29" 


MCT-IITIO 


AT MULTI I/O 


USE Wl TH MC T-A TFH FOR A MINIMUM OF SL O TS USED 

• SERIAL PARALLEL AND GAME PORTS 

• USES 16450 SERIAL SUPPORT CHIPS FOR HIGH SPEED OPERATION 

ATK>*SERIAL 2nd SERIAL PORT 


MCT-MM 


MEMORY CURDS 

576K RAM CARD 


(^Seagate 


V2 HEIGHT HMD DISKDRIVES 

V2HT HURD DISK SYSTEMS 

40 MO ^469 

20Mi*200 

60 MO ^649 

30 1. >329 


Drives are Seagate models ST-251 (40 MB) & 
ST‘277 (60 MB RLL) S’/' half heights 
FAST 40ms access time! 


Systems include Seagate ' height hard drive. 

drive controller, cables & instructions. All 
drives are pre-tested •& warranted tor 1 year. 


IBM COMPATIBLE 
MOTHERBOARDS 

FROM MODULAR CIRCUIT TECHNOLOGY 

MCMURBO TURBO 4.77/8 MHz $9995 

4.77 OR 8 MHi OPERATION WITH 8086-2 & OPTIONAL 
8087-2 CO-PROCESSOR 

FRONT PANEL LEO SPEED INDICATOR AND RESET 
SWITCH SET SUPPORTED 

CHOICE OF NORMAL TURBO MODE OR SOFTWARE SELECT 
PROCESSOR SPEED 

MCT-XTMB STANDARD MOTHERBOARD (87» 
MCT-ATMB 80286 6/8 MHz *37985 

8 SLOT 12 EIGHT BIT. 6 SIXTEEN BIT) AT MOTHERBOARD 
HARDWARE SELECTION OF 6 OR 8 MHi 
1 WAIT STATE 

KEYLOCK SUPPORTED. RESET SWITCH. FRONT PANEL LEO 
INDICATOR 

SOCKETS FOR 1 MB OF RAM AND 80287 
BATTERY BACKED CLOCK 


MCT-BATMB 


MINI 80286 


$38995 


REPLACEMENT BOARD FOR XT STYLE CHASSIS 

• OPERATE AT 6 10 MHi WITH UP TO IMS ON-BOARD 
MEMORY (ZERO K INSTALLCOI 

SOCKET FOR 80ZB7 MATH CO-PORCESSOR 
BATTERY BACKED CLOCK 

• 8 SLOTS: 2 EIGHT BIT. 6 SIXTEEN BIT 

USES CHIPS & TECHNOLOGY CHIP SET FOR RELIABILfTY 
AND SMALL SIZE 


IBM COMPATIBLE 
KEYBOARDS 

FULL ONE YEAR WARRANTY 
U Li L CUJU LLLU BEB 


MCT-5339 


*79*5 


IBM ENHANCED STYLE LAYOUT 

• SOFTWARE AUTOSENSE FOR XT OR AT 
COMPATIBLES 

• LED INDICATORS 

• AUTO REPEAT FEATURE 

• SEPARATE CURSOR PAD 


MCT-5OS0 


$59*5 


• IBM AT STYLE LAYOUT 

• SOFTWARE AUTOSENSE FOR XT OR AT 
COMPATIBLES 

• LED INDICATORS 

• AUTO REPEAT FEATURE 

MCT-5150 XT STYLE LAYOUT 14919 I 
MCT-5151 KBSIS; ’* EQUIV. 


WHY BUY A SYSTEM FROM JDR? 


*59*5 


*59*5 1 

A CONTIGUOUS MEMORY SOLUTION IN A SHORT SLOT 

• USER SELECTABLE CONFIGURATION AMOUNTS UP TO $76K USING I 
64K B 2S6K RAM CHIPS IZERO K INSTALLED! 

I MCT-EMS EXPANDED MEMORY CARO *129*5 

2 MB OF lotus INTEL MICROSOFT COMPATIBLE MEMORY FOR XT 

• CONFORMS TO LOTUS' INTEL EMS • USER EXPANDABLE TO 2 MB I 

• EXPANDED CONVENTIONAL MEMORY. RAMOISK AND SPOOLER 

MCT-ATEMS AT VERSION •139** 

DRIVE CONTROLLERS 

I MCT-FDC FLOPPY DISK CONTROLLER *29*5 1 

QUALITY DESIGN OFFERS 4 FLOPPY CONTROL IN A SINGLE SLOT 

• INTERFACES UP TO 4 FOO« TO AN IBM PC OR COMPATIBLE 

• SUPPORTS BOTH OS'DO AND OS 'OD WTTH DOS 3.2 

I MCT-HDC HARD DISK CONTROLLER *79*5 1 

HD CONTROL FOR WHAT OTHERS CHARGE FOR FLOPPY CONTROL 

• SUPPORTS 16 DRIVE SIZES INCLUDING S. 10. 20. 30 B 40 MB 

• DIVIDE 1 LARGE DRIVE INTO 2 SMALLER. LOGICAL DRIVES 

I ||4CT'FDC'1.2''2MB FLOPPY CONTROLLER $99*5 I 

ADO VERSATILITY & CAPACITY TO YOUR XT 

• SUPPORTS 2 DRIVES, BOTH MAY BE 360K OR 1.2 MEG 

• AUOWS DATA TO FLOW FREELY FROM XTt TO ATs 

I MCT-FH FLOPPY/HARD CONTROLLER *139*5 1 

SYSTEM STARVED FOR SLOTST SATISFY IT WITH THIS TIMELY DESIGN 

• INTERFACES UP TO 2 FDD* B 2 HDD*. CABLING FOR 2 FDD* B 1 HDD I 

• SUPPORTS BOTH DS DO B D$. OOWITH DOS 3.2 

I ||||CT-IITFH*'''^o'^^^*''>'’‘’‘^°>'''^°‘-‘-^'’*149*5 1 

Floppy hard disk control in a true a t design 

• SUPPORTS UP TO 2 360K' 720K 1.2MB FDD* 

AS WEU AS 2 HOD* USING STANDARD CONTROL TABLES 



• BUILD IT YOURSELF INC SAVEI • MOST OBOERS SKlfPED IN 24 HOURS 

• MONEY BACK BUARANTEE (ASK FOR DETAILS) • QUALITY COMrONENTS ANO COMPETITIVE PRICES 

• LEARN ABOUT THE INNER NORRINOS OF A COMPUTER • TOLL FREE TECH SUPPORT IN THE U.S. AND CANADA 

• YOU CAN ASSEMBLE A SYSTEM IN ABOUT 2 HOURS KITH A SCREWDRIVER I OUR EASY-TO-FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS 


BUILD YOUR OWN 
256K NT COMPATIBLE 

* MOTHERBOARD 
« 256K OF MEMORY 
*135 WATT POWER SUPPLY 

* FLIP-TOP CASE 

* XT STYLE KEYBOARD 

* 360K FLOPPY DRIVE 

* DRIVE CONTROLLER 

* MONOCHROME MONITOR 

* GRAPHICS ADAPTOR 

FOR ONLY S490<9 

ANYONE CAN BUILD A SYSTEM IN ABOUT 
2 HOURS USING A SCREWDRIVER AND 
OUR EASY-TO-FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS! 


DEVELOPMENT TOOLS 

FROM MODULAR CIRCUIT TECHNOLOGY 

I MCT-EPROM PROGRAMMER *129*5 

PROGRAMS 27Mt 8 27*** EPROMS UP TO 27512 

• SUPPORTS VARIOUS PROGRAMMING FORMATS 
ANO VOLTAGES 

• SPLIT OR COMBINE CONTENTS OF SEVERAL EPROMS 
OF DIFFERENT SIZES 

• READ. WRITE. COPY. ERASE CHECK AND VERIFY 

• SOFTWARE FOR HEX AND INTEL HEX FORMATS 

llCT-EnOM-4 lUMnouMma <1I9» 

MCT-ENOM-IO lOUHnoaUMMEl >299" 


MCT-PUL PAL PROGRAMMER *269*5 

[MCT-MP PROCESSOR PROG. *199*5 



PARTIAL LISTING ONLY-CALL FOR A FREE CATALOG! 


COPYRIGHT 1988 JDR MICROOEVICES 


CIRCLE 108 ON READER SERVICE CARD 






5AVE MONEY 
ON COMPUTERS 

COMPUTER PRODUCTE AT THE LOWEET PRICEE 
Special of the Month - Laser XT computers starting at $499 


COMPUTERS 

THE AU. ICW IBM PERSOHM. SYSTEM 2 

MODEL 25 MONOCHROME 2 FLOPPY $1,045.00 
MODEL 25 MONOCHROME $1,222.00 

2 FLOPPIES 

MODEL 25 COLOR 1 FLOPPY $1,339.00 

MOOa 25 COLOR 1 FLOPPIES $1,499.00 

MOOa 30002 (2 720K FLOPPIES) $1,259.00 
MODEL 3(M121 (20MB HARO DRIVE) $1,699.00 

10281 SYSTEMS 

MODEL 50021 (20MB HARO DRIVE) $2,655.00 
MODEL 00071 (TOMB HARO DRIVE) $4,650.00 
MM PERSONAL 8Y8TEM/2 DtSPlAYS 


MONOCHROME 6503 $199.00 

C0L0R-6S12(14') $476.00 

COLOR 8513 (120 $539.00 

COLOR 8514 (160 $1,162.50 

NEW PERSONAL SYSTBI 2 SOFTIMARE 

IBMDOS3.3 $96.00 

LAPTOP COMPUTHtS 

NECMULTISPEEO640K.23-1/2*FD0 $1,385.00 
WCMULnSPEEOEL.BACKLJT $1,599.00 

NECMUmSPEEOHO $2,360.00 

TOSHIBA 1100 PLUS $1,499.00 

TOSHIBA 3100-20 $3,069.00 

TOSHIBA 1000 IN STOCK $875.00 

NEW1 TOSHIBA 1200 $2,290.00 

ZENITH 181 640K $1,639.00 

ZBirTH183 640K.W/10MB $2,199.00 

NEW MM PRINTERS 

IBM PROPRINTER II $439.25 

IBM PROPRINTER 1024 $839.20 

IBM OUIETWRITER III PRINTER $1,299.00 

ATATSPKtALS 

AT&T 6300 W/940K.1360K FLOPPY $839.99 

SERIAL, WMia, VIDEO BOLRD 
AT&T 6300 KEYBOARD $109.00 

AT&T MONOCHROME MONITOR $199.00 

W/SYSTEM 

AT&TCOIORMONITORW/SYSTEM $533.00 

WYSE PC/AT AW 316 COMPUTBtS 

VYYSE PC 1400 W/640K, 2 DRIVES $1 .049.00 


2 SERIAL PORTS, 1 FNRALLEL PORT. 

AT STYLE KEYBOARD 

WYSEPC286ATCOMFNTIBLE $1,399.50 

840K. 1.2Me FLOPPY. SERIAL AND 
RLAALLfL PORTS. AT STYLE 
KEYBQWD 

WYSE 386. 1.2MB FLOPPY. 16MHz $2,499.00 

0 WATT STATE. 1MB RAM. HD/FD 
CONT. SER4>AR 

WYSE 386, AS ABOVE WITH 40MB $3,350.00 

HARO DRIVE 

*** LASn XT AW SSI 2SI SPECIALS 

NATIONALLY RENOWNED LASER XT $499.00 

W/256K, 1 FLOPPY 

LASER XTW/640K. 2 FLOPPIES. $879.00 

MULT) 10 CARO, TTL MONOCHROME 
MONITOR MONOGRAPHICS BOARD. 

TURB0 10 MHz MOTHERBOARD 
SPKULI SSI AT 286-10. S12K. $1,119.00 

1.2M8 FLOPPY. H04D CONTROLLER. 

AT STYLE KEYBOARD, 8 EXFNNSION 
SLOTS. 195 MATT POWER SUPPLY. 

FU11 YEAR WARRANTY 
COMPAQ" SPECIAli 

COMM DESKPRO MODEL II $1 .243.00 

2S6K. 2 360K FLOPPIES 

COMRW "286” DESKPRO WITH $2,699.30 

20MB HARO DRIVE 


COMPAQ "286” DESKPRO WITH $2,950.00 
40MeHARD DRIVE 

COMPAQ "386" DESKPRO 40M6 $4,679.28 

COMRAO "386" DESKPRO 130MB $6,335.30 

•••NEWCOMRAQ PORTABLE lit*** INSTOCK 
*** NEWC0MRAQ386«)MHz‘** INSTOCK 
ASTSPOIALS 

ASTMODEL80 $1,394.00 

ASTAIIODEL90 $1,755.00 

AST MODEL 120 $2,089.00 

AST MODEL 140 $2,445.00 

ASTAIOOELITO S2.815.75 

MONOCHROME MONITORS 

HYUNDAI TIU SWIVEL AMBER S85.00 

TAXAN 123 GREEN MONOCHROME S105.S0 
1AXAN 124 AMBER MONOCHROME S1 10.00 
AMOEK310A AMBER MONOCHROME S135.99 
AMOEK 41QA AMBER PAONOCHROME S1S4.S6 
WYSE 530 GREEN OR AMBER S175.36 

FW3(AROBEa GREEN OR AMBER S95.00 
wrm TILT /SWIVEL 

COMFW AWNOCHROME MONITOR S198.50 
PGSMAX-12E AMBER S143.00 

WYSE 700 1280X600 RES. S767.20 

W/GRAPHICSCARD 

AST DISPLAY MONOCHROME $179.50 

MONITOR. 14* BLACK & WHITE 

COLOR MONITORS 

SAMSUNG COLOR 640 X 200 S279.00 

TAXAN 720 COLOR MONITOR S299 SO 

TAXAN 635 S397.50 

PGSHX-12E $459.00 

AMDEK COLOR 600 $349.00 

AMDEKC0LX)R722 $444.00 

CTX 14' COLOR MONITOR $289 00 

2YEARVIIARRANTY 

EGA MONITORS 

AST DISPLAY EGA $509.25 

COMmOEGAAIONITOR $564.00 

SAMSUNG EGA MONITOR S389.00 

CrXEGAAtONlTDR $365.99 

NEWI TAXAN 770 MULTISYNC $539.99 

TAXAN 660 $449 00 

NEWI NEC MULTISYNC II CALL 

NEC MULTISYNC PLUS 14' 960 x 720 $929.00 

NEC MULTISYNC XL 19* 1024x768 $1,955.00 

ZENITH FTMZCM-1490 $699 00 

DISK DRIVES 

20MB SEAGATE 1/2 HEIGHT W/CONT. $289.00 
30MB SEAGATE 1/2 HEIGHT W/RLL $309.00 
30MB SEAGATE FULL HEIGHT FOR AT $499.00 
40MB SEAGATE FULL HEIGHT FOR AT $599.00 
20MB MINISCRIBE HARD CARO $399.00 
30M8 MINISCRIBE HARD CARO $419.00 
PLUSHARDCAR0 20 / 40 CAa FOR PRICE 

40M61/2HGT. MINISCRIBEFORAT $385.00 
SPOULI 80MB SEAGATE FOR AT $650.00 
W/ON-TRAC 

FUJITSU 360K 1/2 HGT. FLOPPY $83.00 

TAXAN TDM-S 5.25* EXTERNAL FDD $279.00 
FOR IBM PS/2 

BERNOULLI BOK 10 -f 10 $1,385.00 

8PEGlALIBERN0UUJB(K20-t-20 $1,599.00 
NON BOOTABLE CONTROLIDI $159.00 

BOOTABLE CONTROLLER 209.00 

SPECIALI IRWIN 10M6TAPE BACK-UP $259.00 
I RWIN20Me AND 40MB INTERNAL INSTOCK 


TAPEBN)K-UPS 

ARCHIVE 40M8 TAPE BACK-UP UNIT $339.00 
FOR XT/AT 


CARDS 

MULTI lA) $69.99 

MONOCHROME GRAPHICS W/PP $69.65 

TAXAN S3SM0N0O1R0MEW/PP $79.00 

HERCULES GRAPHICS CARO PLUS $179.00 

IBM MONOCHROME W/PP $197.00 

COLOR GRAPHICS CARO $69.00 

COLOR GRAPHICS CARO W/PP $69.00 

HERCULES COLOR CARO W/PP $144.00 

NEW HERCULES INCOLOR CARO INSTOCK 

TAXAN 555 COLOR CARD W/PP $189.50 

EGA AND MEMORY CARDS 

EPIC 480. EGA, CGA, MOA, HERC. $149.00 

640 X 480 VIDEO 7 COMMTIBLE 
TAXAN AtmiSWnCH EGA CAaFORPRICE 
fWTADISE AUTOSWITCH EGA $199T)Q 

640X480 

OUAORAM EGA $199.00 

VIDEO 7 VEGA DELUXE $265.00 

NEC GB-1 640X480 RES. $239.25 

NEWI GENOA SUPER EGA HI-RES. $249 00 

800 x 600 RESOLUTION 

ZUCKERM»40FTYS76K $59.00 

NEW VGA BOARDS 

GENOA SUPER VGA HI-RES PLUS $289.00 

VI0E07\AM $339.00 

OUAORAM ULTRA VGA CARD $289.00 

FWLAOISElAytCARO $296.00 

ASTVGACARD $314.50 


NOVELL NETWORKING 

TURNKEY NETWORK SYSTEM 

80MB 286 Fia SERVER, ARCNET PC 
TERMINALS. LOADED SOFTWARE. 
CABLES. TERMINATORS AND TEES. 
EVERYTHING. PLUG IN & TURN ON 


A-USER 

$5,999.00 

6-USER 

S8.999.00 

8-USER 

S10.849.00 

OPERATWB SYSTEMS 

NEWI AW. NETWARE 286 V 21 SFT 

S2.599.00 

ADV. NETWARE 286 V2.0A 

SI .499.00 

AOV. NETWARE 286 SFTI 

S2.096.S0 

ELS 4-USER SOFTWARE 

S429.00 

CAROS 

ARCNET 

S169.00 

ETHERNET 

S2S9.00 

WORKS1XTNMS 

ARCNET PC TERMINAL 

S799.00 

ETHERNETPCTERMINAL 

S899.00 


MISC. NETWORKMB ITEMS 
MOUNTAIN 40MB TAPE BACKUP $469.00 

AMERICAN PCMER300W UPS $469.00 

FOR Fia SERVER 

MODEMS 

2400 BAUD INTERNAL MODEM $175.00 

W/ SOFTWARE 

ATD3(Xin200 BAUD W/PCTALK III $99.00 

USR SPORTSTER 1200 EXTERNAL $128.00 

USR SPORTSTER 1200 HALF INTERNAL $106.00 
EVEREX laoOBAUD INTERNAL $109.00 

EVEREX2400BAUO INTERNAL $199.00 

EVEREX24006AUO EXTERNAL $289.00 

NEW LOWER PRIONG AVAILABLE 
HAYES SMARTMOOEM 1200 EXTERNAL $289.00 
HAYES SM12006W/SMARTCOM II S289.00 


HAYES SMARTMODEM 12006 W/HW $250.00 
INTERNAL -NO SOFTWARE 
HAYES SMARTMODEM 2400 EXTERNAL $424.00 
N050FTWAFE 

HAYES SMARTMODEM 24008 $424.00 

W/SOFTVMRE 


HAYES SMARTMODEM 24006 INTERNAL S379.00 
HARDWARE ONLY 


EXTERNAL MODEM CABLES 

S19.99 

IBM 5250 EMUL 2.12 CONV KTT 

S633.75 

PRINTERS 


CITIZEN 1200. 80 COL, 120 CPS 

$169.75 

CITIZEN 1800. 80 COL. 160 CPS 

SI 89.99 

SPEOAL OF THE MONTH 


CITIZEN MSP40. 80 COL, 200 CPS 

S299.00 

EPSON LX-80D W/TRACTOR FEB) 

S219.00 

EPSON FX-86E 

S349.00 

EPSON FX-286E 

$469.00 

EPSON EX 800 

$429.00 

EPSON EX-1000 

$509 00 

EPSON LO 850 

$519.00 

EPSON LQ 2500 

$889.00 

NECP660 80COL 

$425.00 

NEC COLOR P660 

SS30.50 

NEC F760 136001/216 CPS 

$580.00 

NECCOlORPTeO 

$699.00 

SPECMLI NECP2200 

S339.00 

NECPS60XL 

S879.00 

NECP960XL 

SI .057.00 

NEC 3550 SPINWRITER 

$741.00 

NEC 8650 SPINWRITER 

$1,075.00 

OKIQATA ML182 PLUS FOR IBM 

CAa 

OKIOATA ML192 PLUS FOR IBM 

CAa 

OKKWTA MLt93 PLUS FOR IBM 

$440.00 

OKIQATA ML292E 

S377.44 

OKIOATA ML2S3E 

SS15.50 

INTERMCE MOOULE FOR 292/293 

S94.99 

OKIOATA ML333P/SER1AL 

$999.00 

•••NEW”* 


TOSHIBA P321 SL W/TRACTOR 

$499.00 

TOSHIBA P341S/L 

S865.00 

TOSHIBA P3S1 P/S MODEL II 

S55.2S 

TOSHIBA P351 SX W/TRACTOR 

$1,050.00 

HP LASERJET SERIES It 

INSTOCK 

HP7475APLOnER 

INSTOCK 

DISKETTES 


3-1/2' DS/DD FOR PS./2 

$22.00 

5-1/4' DSflX) FOR AT 

$12.45 

5-1/4' DSHD FOR AT 

S21.99 

CHIPS 


80387-16 

SS45.00 

60387-20 

$799.00 

8067-2 (FOR COMRAQ DESKPRO) 

$189.00 

80287-6 (FOR AT & AT COMnUIBlES) 

$179.20 

e0287-8 

$260.00 

80287-10 

$335.00 

COMRAQ 386 1MB UPGRADE 

$390.00 

MISC. 


PARALLEL PRINTER CABLES 

$15.00 

KT RARALLEL PRINTER CABLES 

$20.00 

150 WATT POWER SUPPLY 

$85.00 

OS BACKUP PLUS 

$49.95 

4 - 6 OUTLET SURGE PROTECTORS 

$15.00 

PERMA POWER SURGE PROTECTORS 

$39.50 

OUAORAM MICROFAZER RAR 

$139.00 

8KBUFF 


MICROSOFT MOUSE (SERIAL VERSION) S121.50 

OAK COMPUTER DESK & HUTCH 

$109.00 

OAK PRINTER S1AND 

$89.00 


ALL SOFTWARE MINIMUM 30% OFF • MOST ORDERS SHIPPED WITHIN 48 hiOURS • WE HAVE THE LOWEST PRICE. CALL US BEF(DRE YOU 
BUY IT ANYWHERE ELSE e CORPORATE BIDS OR HIGH VOLUME BIDSWELCOME. CALL (800)426'2489,ANDASK FORAMY 
TECH HOT LINE (312) $37-3970 • TOLL FREE ORDER UNE (800)/426-CITY 
WE HAVE ALL YOUR COMPUTER NEEDS AT THE BEST PRICE AND WE GUARANTEE ITI 
CALL or In Illinois 


1-80(M26-CITY 312-537-3600 


Add 3% Shipping & Handling. Orders under $200, please add $5 for handling. Prices reflect 3% cash discount. Allow 10 business days for shipping when paying by 
personal check. Software, chips and other electronic components are not returnable. Returns ere subject to a restocking charge. Prices are subject to change without notice. 



r707 COMPUTER SALES 


CIRCLE 106 ON READER SERVICE CARD 






The 80286 T^st Results 
PC Magazine Did Not Show Its Readers... 


■ Northgate Computer’s Throughput 
Was Phstest of All Systems Tested! 


Magazine’s Feb. 16, 
1988 issue reviewed 
Northgate’s 80286 System and 
20 others. 

PC Labs performed through- 
put tests on all systems ais well 
SIS the standard disk perform- 
ance tests. 

Throughput tests performed 
by PC Labs conjlrmed North- 
gate equals or outperforms 
systems using drives with as 
fast as 28MS head access 
times. 

Unfortunately for Northgate, 
the editors did not repxjrt on 
throughput performsmce, but 
only on hard drive access. 

(IN CASE A DEFINITION OF 
THROUGHPUT IS NEEDED- 
IT IS THE SPEED AT WHICH 
DATA GETS BACK AND 
FORTH BETWEEN DRIVES 
AND THE PROCESSOR) 

Thith Is, throughput is the 
real world of computing. 
Head access speed is 
relatively meaningless. 

In their comments on the 
Northgate System, they also 
stated that Northgate’s RLL 
encoding of the drives and the 
1:1 interleaving had no effect on 
hard drive access. 

Northgate has never made a 
claim about improving hettd ac- 
cess wth these methods. IN- 
STEAD, BY USING ADVANCED 
HARD DRIVE TECHNOLOGY, 
NORTHGATE DELIVERS 
THROUGHPUT PERFORM- 
ANCE TO EQUAL OR SURPASS 
PERFORMANCE OFSYSTEMS 
USING FASTER, MORE EX- 
PENSIVE HARD DRIVES. 


The bottom line for the con- 
sumer is Northgate gives You 
More Computer For Your 
Moneyl 

Northgate pioneered the tech- 
nology that enables us to design 
systems using low-cost (but 
highly reliable) hard drives and 
ermancing their performance to 
yield real-time computer per- 
formance as good or better than 
sj^tems using far costlier drives. 

Frankly it hurt us to see the 
conclusions reached by PC 
Magazine based on PC Lcibs’ 
testing. But. ..Northgate has 1 
been fully vindicated ly the mag- 
azine’s recognition of our top- 
rated throughput performance. 

More Importantly, the buying 
public now has meaningful 
results on which to base a 
purchasing decision. 

A careful study of features, 
price and performance of 
all systems reviewed in 
that issue will prove to you 
that Northgate is the over- 
all Best Buy! 

Northgate was the first to 
offer RLL, 1:1 interleaving and 



Phone Northgate 
Tbll Free: 

1 800 548-1993 


Mon-Fri CST 8 a.m.-7 p.m. 
Saturday 9 a.m.-2 p.m. 

2905 Northwest Blvd., Suite 250 
Plymouth, MN 55441 


high speed controllers in 80286 
£md in 8088 systems. 

If you want to really have 
your eyes opened, call our com- 
petitors, Icirge and small and ask 
if you can get a hard drive with 
these features. 'Vbu’Il be shocked. 
IVylt. 

NOW FOR SOME REALLY 
GOOD NEWS... 

Northgate’s Enhanced Tfech- 
nology leaps cihead and totally 
eliminates any question of head 
access. 

On all Northgate 80286 
and 80386 Systems currently 
shipping, we Include a Disk 
Caching program at no extra 
cost. UsUrg this highly efficient 
Disk Caching, once a file is 
read into memory, saving or 
reaccessing it requires zero 
disk access. Much like a RAM 
disk. But unlike a RAM disk, 
data is saved when exiting the 
explications program. 

MOREGOODNEWS... North- 
gate now includes the superb 
VOPT Disk Optimizer devel- 
oped by Golden Bow Systems. 
Install^ in the Autoexec, bat of 
your computer, each time you 
turn on your system. VOPT 
goes to work re-organizing 
your hard drive to keep it 
running efficiently. Another 
Northgate First! 

CONCLUSION... 

For Complete Computer 
Systems on the Cutting Edge 
of Tbday’s Itechnology, phone 
all the others, then call North- 
gate We believe it will be the 
last call you'll need to make! 



CIRCLE 240 ON READER SERVICE CARD 




VIDEO-7 
DELUXE VGA 



New 264,144 color palette 
Supports all 17 VGA 
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machine. Use any laser or 
dot matrix printer. 

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LAN ^ $599 


SAVE OVER 50% NOW* 

• NOVELL COMPATIBLE 

• SOFTWARE INCLUDED 

• TWISTED PAIR/COAX/RJ11 

• IBM NETBIOS COMPAT. 

• COMM PORT SHARING 

• UP TO 255 NODES MAX 

• FULLY EXPANDABLE 

• LIMITED TO FIRST 150 SETS SOLD 



NOVELL 


BEST PRICES ANYWHERE! 


80 MB 
SYSTEM 

386 

• Intel 80386 Processor 

• 1 Megabyte RAM 

• Expandable to 9 MB 

• 80 MB Hard Disk 

• VGA Graphics 

• Dual Serial/Parallel 




Quad 386 XT 

Upgrades XT to 386 per- 
formance 60366-16MHZ 
processor. IMB 32 bit RAM. 

$699 

286 Upgrade <399 


THIS MONTH’S 
SPECIALS 

• LAPTOP MODEM SELECTION <279 

• EXTERNAL TAPE BACKUP UNIT <389 

• TOSHIBA 2 MB 3'/4 IN. FLOPPY <139 

• 130 MB/28 MS HARD DISK & CONT. <999 

• GENOA PLUS EGA & GEM SOFTWARE <199 


HUNDREDS DF OTHER TOP NAME PRODUCTS 
AVAIUBLE ON OUR 24.HR BBS DATA LINE 
(805) 650-0193 (8/1/N) 



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CIRCLE 175 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


THE 


PCM 329 


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LQ500 

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I Epson's lowest price 
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No sorchorge on credit card purchosesl Government, Munidpc^ and School PO. i accepted. Corporate business wefcome. 

PC. Pifstop □ 4517 West Loke Street □ Minneopotis, MN □ 55416 


CIRCLE 355 ON READER SERVICE CARD 











h's Easy Deciding 

Why to Buy 

CEC Personai Systems... 

It's even Easier 
Deciding Where! 

The CEC Computer Warehouse. We offer 
you all you could want in a personal 
computer. Our AT’s and 386 machines 
offer power, compatibility, technical 
support, service, and great pricesi 



Our System 1: Portable AT has 80286-10 
Micro Processor, 80287 Socket, 512KB 
RAM, 360KB Floppy Drive, 1.2MB Floppy 
Drive, Parallel, Serial Port(s), 7 Expansion 
Slot{s), 101 Key(s) Keyboard $1449. 



Our System 2: Desktop AT has 80286-12 
Micro Processor, 80287 Socket, 512KB 
RAM, 360KB Floppy Drive, 1.2MB Floppy 
Drive, Monographic^olor Card, Parallel, 
Serial Port(s), 101 Key(s) Keyboard, 

8 Expansion Slot(s). $1550. 



Our System 3: Desktop AT has 80286-10 
Micro Processor, 80287 Socket, 512KB 
RAM, 360KB Floppy Drive, 1.2MB Floppy 
Drive, MonographicColor Card, Parallel, 
Serial Port(s), 101 Key(s) Keyboard. 

8 Expansion Slot(s). $1350 

We design, build, and test for your quali- 
ty assurance. 100%IBM compatible. Com- 
plete software compatibility. Excellent 
service and warranty. Your satisfaction is 
guaranteed! Call us today! 

The Comtrek 
Computer Warehouse 

80 Felton Street 
Waltham, MA 02154 
(617) 449-6988 • (617) 449-3777 

us 1-800-527-6016 
MA 1-800-527-5995 

Mastercard/Visa/American Express Accepted 


INTEL 

COPROCESSORS 
$138 
$226" 
$270 
$438 
$725 


8087-2 . . . 
80287-8 . . 
80287-10. 
80387-16. 
80387-20 . 


SAVE UP' 
TO 70% 


IM;11IIHI[II(OT k'KilIf umm .. (e]/AlLIL | 

PRINTERS 


& CAD 


SINCE 1984 



ORCLE 512 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


QROLE 387 ON READER SERVICE CARD 





COMPUTER DISCOUNT WAREHOUSE 



ATbT The right choice 

6300 W/640K 1 Drive SI2t^ 

6300 W/640K 2 Drives 61442 

6300 W/640K 1 Floppy. 20 Meg .1136.10 
6300 W/640K 1 Floppy, 30 Meg .1167.70 
_^6300 W/640K 1 Floppy. 40 Meg .13M.6e 
ATtTt iKhidt ktytMrt. MetiAer md DOS addlthmU. 



WHY PAY 
RETAIL? 

/IfoAody Setts 
for Less 

CALL FOR LOWEST CUSTOM QUOTES 



ru» irr TuA.) MOK. 1 Floppy, DOS a TTSV', 
GW-BaisIc. Serial/Parallel. ColorlMonochrame J ^ 

Adaptor A Keyboard 1666.64 ' ~ 

VT266|ATCo<Ma1»le) 8 MHz. 0 Wait State. 

640K 1.2M Floppy. Serial/Parallel. flH . 

Controller, Keyboard 61266^6 

SAMRSUNG MOO an mhi. si2k, s simp wk . 

MeMgraoMca board, DOS, Keyboard 

S^. 1 Roppy $749.50 

1 1 S-300. 20 Meg 909.95 

' S-300. 40 Meg 1117.92 I 

V500 AT CofflNtAle 6/10 MHz, i 
S/P/C. Monegraphici Board. DOS, Keyboard I 

S-500. 1.2M Floppy $1006.45 

$-500. 20 Meg 1409.90 

S-500 . 40 Meg 1624.45 



HARDWARE, SOFTWARE & PERIPHERALS AT DISCOWf PRICES 


Model 80 . . . .S144640 Model 17D. . 

Model 90 1756.16 Model 300 . 

Model 120 ....209906 Model 340 . 
Medet 140 . . . 247U6 Model 390 . 

WYSE 

Medal 2160 . .1101260 Model 2214. 
Model 2112.... 1S6L20 Model 3216 

IBM PS2 

Modeisa Modeiearo 

2 dmes S1272.26 Model 60 70 

Model 30 20 Meg172S.17 Model 60 40 
Model 50 29i7JI Model 80 70 


..S2616J6 

...338040 

...4099A6 

...564a40 


Meg .NEW 
Meg LOWER 
Meg .I9M 
M^ PRICES 


Deskpro. 2 dm«s $1115.12 

Deskpro, 20 Meg 14I6J9 

Desl^. 40 Meg 167961 

Deskpro 286, Model 1 213966 

Oeskpro 289 40 Meg 262910 

Deskpro 289 70 Meg 264920 

Oeskpro 369 40 Meo 469266 

Oeskpro 389 Model M 20 MHz 567660 

Oeskpro 369 Model m 20 MHz 7I69J2 

Oeskpro 389 Model 300 20 MHz 616920 

SrSKle. Tdrtve 157465 

Portable ill. Model 20 357765 

Pei^ll HI. Medet 41 415933 

VXH /XT IbrOcI 640K, 1 Roppy. DOS. 

S/P/C. Monrior Adapter i Kej^rd $99964 

Vm w/ 1 flopp^O Meg 96990 

P988 wTI nopov 62764 

Vm (AT CeMpel.) 10 MHz. 0 wait State. 

1.2M HomL Mt 0)nt. 6 Keyboard 1286JS 

VT206 w/iftMeg 157360 

\i™w/40Meg 1724.10 

TOSHIBA 

T1100 ^ . - $152910 T1000 $99941 

Ttm n Mn 366959 TIM 1226956 

13200 346666 T5100. . . .NEW MODEL 

SEC 

NEC Mulbspeed $134964 

NEC Mulbspeed EL 149176 

NEC Mulbspeed HP 236977 

Z-181 ALL ZENITH 

Z-183 MODELS 

Z-189 20Meo IN STOCK 

Z-306 CALi FOR PRICE 

MINISCRIBE 30 MegFla^rd $42996 

PLUS DEVELOPMENT 40 Meg 83660 

WESTERN DIGITAL 30 Meo 41930 

mi'm " 


^CITIZEN 

1200 $15955 MSP40 $30945 

124 48910 MSP45 44920 

1800 17865 MSP50 37564 

224 55930 MSPS5 47666 

MSP13 27920 Premiere 35 . . .467.17 

wmmi 

ISiPbvKedak $3M.17 

300 47917 

EPSON 

EXBOO CALL LXBOO ALL 

EX1996. COW" UMM EPSON 

FX66e F0R9EST LO850 MODELS 

FXIMa . .. PRICE 101050 IN 

Can fer Accessaries 10-2990 STOCK 

IBM 

Pro Printer II.. $44766 Quietwriler III.. $134912 

SEC 

Color P6 $63974 Color P7 $69912 

P6 60 co< 43922 P7 136 col 60666 

P5XL 89975 P9XL 103970 

P229I 19466 6850 104976 

3550 71912 

OtgCMIA 

Okimate 20... $122.74 ML 1S2P $24360 

ML182S 27971 ML 192 Plus... 32959 

ML 193 Plus... 45941 ML 20 Plea . . .3n.44 

ML 293 Plus . . .51665 ML 294 747.19 

ML 191 94961 

PANASONIC 

19911 $17161 mil $21166 

1092i 334.28 1592 43944 

1595 45945 3131 27462 

3151 40962 1524 57910 

TOSHIBA 

P321SL $46915 P351-2 S/P . . .$91765 

P341SL 66917 P351-2 Color . .119996 

P351 66060 P351SX.. NEW MODEL 

w^mrniJSZLuLimmm 

AST Turbo Laser/EL $M9945 

H-P Laser Jet Model 2 174940 

H P DaMdel CAu fUrt PRICE 

NEC LC850/LC860 IN STOCK 

NEC LC890 Postscript 3356.60 


FLOMPIEB, DRIVES « T9PES 


1/2 beiotit floppy dme . 

1/2 . 

MINISCRIBE 30 Meg 1/2 height w/RLL . .34566 
lEAGATE 29 Met in beRM bard drtva .21911 

SEAGATE 30 Meg V2 height w/RLL 30972 

SEAGATE 40 Meg 1/2 height 43260 

GENOA 60 Meo ml tape 75469 

GENOA M Meg am. taea 16916 


J y.f aj.j.i.' 

eoA m6ni 


I!HD 


GENOA 125 Meg int. tape . 

IOMEGA BERNOULLI lO-i-IO.. 

IOMEGA lERNOUUJ 26^26 
IOMEGA 20 Meg V2 height mt 
IOMEGA 20+20 ExternaTSVA . 

IRWIN 19 Mad MH beefcae .28964 

IRWIN 201^ M MMraMVa 39916 M992I 


.136925 

162966 

.96955 

.176973 




Miiiiiiin iiiiiiM 

SANTA CLARA Diskless Workstation ... .$64 

SOFTWARE S STARTIR KITS 

WESTERN DIGriAL 3 Node LAN lot 
w/Westem Digital software S7Z93t 


Entry-level 286 i 


1 Kit. 4 Users . 


Entt^le^ 286 Starter IQt, 8 Users SW 

NC^LL 286 Software w/Key^ 169161 

NOVELL SFT Netware Leva! 1 214961 

NOVELL SFT Netware Level II V2.1 Z7576I 

Nondedicated Netware Software 286 

w/Keycard 15 

INTERFACE CARDS 

ARCNET PC110 LANBoan] $19921 

ARCNET PC210 LANBoard 2S96I 

ETHERNET Interface Connector 349M 

ETHERNET Plus Board (for 206) 7095 

6-NET Interface Card w/cabie 2996! 

WESTERN OIGTIAL Ethernet Cards 26911 

ACCESSORiet 

ARCNET Passive Hub $9561 

ARCNET Active Hub 53461 

3761 


Ethernet Terminators . 


•ilb 


CMIC0WhrJywaNitmMiaH»dwaw6$eR— a 


Erukni 


color card w/p $ 9900 

mCKARO Bell monot^aphics card w/p . . 1990 
GENOA Spectrum (color monographic w/p)16975 

NERCUUi celareatdMfe 14916 

HERCULES monographtcs plus w/p 17984 

HERCULES Incolor Board 29960 

nXAN MONOGRAPHIC wt$ 1160 


VGA S EGA MONITORS 

COMPAQ VGA monitor $64961 

NEC Multisync II 90971 

NEC Mulbsync PLUS 99918 

NEC Multisync XL 19 inch 117146 

PGS HX-12E Hi-Resoiubon RGB 41932 I 

SONY MULTISCAN 59974 

TAXAN 770 PLUS 49949 

ZfNITM MAM 71931 

VGA DISPLAY CARDS 

AST VGA $31460 

ATI VGA VIP 30764 

GENOA VGA 

WLRAOISE VGA 

QUAORAM ULTRA VGA , 

STB VGA 394.10 I 

VIDEO-7 VGA 3R15 

EGA DISPLAY CAROS 

ATI WMdat Cart $16966 

OEMA Sapar EOA Hl-flae IM i IM 234.41 , 

NEC GB-1 640x480 23943 

PARADISE AmM Svifleb EOA 400 IdlW 

QUADRAM Prosvnc 26940 

VIDEO 7 Vaia Dalai 24974 I 

EVEREX 1200B/2400B 10990/16960 

HAYES 1200 29990 

HAYES 12003 26920 

HAYES 2491 42461 

HAYES 240I9 37916 , 

IRMA 3278 / 79 Courier 69917 

US ROBOTICS 12006 HAYES compat . . . .10945 
U| ROBOTICS 1211 Eitarml 12610 

US ROBOTICS 24O0B 19970 

VENTEL 1200 lot Hall Card 19460 

VEN-TEL 1200 Plus 229M 

VEN-TEL 24M lit. HaN Cart 26916 

VENTEL 2g0^frwl 

802876/4/-^10'. . . .' '17460/26666 /33925 

d0387-16/l9lf7-26 46766/79644 


□SIS 




$60940 
64946 

PRIAM 40 Meg hard disk 66955 

PRIAM 60 Meg hard disk 79995 

PRIAM 136 Mai iMrt dM 166940 

SEAGATE 4038 30 Meg hard disk 49960 

SEAGATE 4053 40 Meg hard disk 56966 

SEAGATE 4096 80 Meg hard disk $1169 

360K floppy drive 11912 


1 1042 1043 1044 

12x12 & 12x18 

HEWlfTt PACKARD 

HP744QA 

HP7475A 

HP7550 

HP7570 

HP SCANJET 

HOUSTON 

INSTRUMENTS 

HI OUP-42 

HI DMP-52 

HI DMP 52MP 

HI DMP-56A 

HI OMP-61 


From Here to Anywhere in 19 
BELL OFFICE Faxlme ,$137952 . 

PANASONIC KX-F115 . . 1463.56 V 
SHARP FO-150 107860 ^ 

SHARP F0^21l 116926 ^ 

TOSHIBA 3010 1314.44 ^ 


ATST Monochrome Monitor $18940 

AMDEK 310A/41M 129M/U996 

AMDEK 12M $7971 

COMPAQ monochrome monitor 11946 

IBM PS2 8503 IN STOCK 

NEC Mulbsync GS NEW MODEL 

POO MAX is amber acMi 13941 

F^KARO BELL Green or Amber 6966 

TAXAN 123 Green /124 Amber ...119SI/124JI 

ATST Cok>r Monitor $54366 

AMDEK color 600T/7S 34924/444.41 

IBM PS2 8512 Color 42941 

IBM PS2 8513 Enhanced Color 499S 

lAMSUm RGB Como 23166 

PGS HX-12 Plus 417.15 

TAXAN 650 46990 

TAXAN 720 29160 


.99» 

. . .. .^ . .. 1H40 , 

KEYTRONICS 5151 iBM or AT&T U99S 

KEYTRONICS 101 10465 

QUADRAM Micro Faars 14940 

Printer Cable (IBM to Centronics) 6 ft 1999 | 





TRIPPLiTE 

BC-450 .... 

,,.$419.75 

LC-1200 $13665 

BC-1200 . , . 

. . 74865 

LC-1800 18975 

4 Outlet . . . 

44.25 



DATASHIELO 

500 wan.. 

...$56905 

1200 Wan ....$694.75 

800 Wan.. 

....63950 

6 Oubet Surge. . .2766 



MOST ORDERS SHIPPED 
WITHIN 48 HOURS. 


WHY WAIT 

■■H 



Call COW'*' for custom quotes 
on products not listed. 


If you find a bettor price 
call us before you buy. 


? CALL COMPUTER DISCOUNT WAREHOUSE™ NOW! 

Nationwide Toll Free 


1 -( 800 ) 233-4426 


In Illinois 

( 312 ) 498-1426 


FAX r 

291-17371 


HIGH VOLUME 
BIOS INVITED 
730 Anthony TrtU 
Northbrt>ok. IL 60062 
FAX-A-BID (312) 291-1737 


CDW 388(2) PC 













RCNETWOPIT 


iRENT SOFTWARE BEFORE YOU BUY + 



^1,998^ 


388^6 1MB RAM W -12M6 Seagate Hard Dnve 


THE 388/16 
1MB BASE SYSTEM 

■ 32 bit 16MHZ 
operation • 200 Wfttt 
power supply • tOt key 
keybpard • 1 2MB 
Mitsubishi floppy drive 
• Western Digital bard/ 
floppy controller • 1MB 
100NS static column 
ram. 

*2,375“ 


THE 286/12 ^ 512K BASE SYSTEM THE TURBO PC/10 ^ 256K BASE SYSTEM 



• 512K Standard. Expandable to 1 MB 
on the Mothertward • 6*12 MHZ 
Keyboard or Toggle Switch Selectable 

• ftoom for up to 4 Half Height 
Drives or 2 Full Height Drives *200 

Watt Fbwer Supply. • 101 Key AT 
00 Style Keyboard. w? w*' 


288/12 W/12M8 Mitsubishi FIoppyW 0 WA2 H DC FDC 
288/12 wMOMB Seagate HD'l 2MB Mitsubishi Floppy 


•915" 

*1,395” 


THE’' SVSTiMS MCUIDE 15 DAY FRa HOME TRIAL 



• 101 AT style keyboard 
■ Pboenix Bios • Mitsubishi 
Roppy Drive • 4 77-10MHZ 
mptrierboard ■ 150 Wbtt FCC 
appiDveO power supply ■ AT 
style case w/keylock, LED 
indicator 5 reset switch c^r\f\r\rtn* » 

• '20NS D-Ram yOO ^ 

PC/10 w/640K/'1 Ftoppy/20MB HD 1843035201 . 

PC/10 640K/2 Roppies i843035t0) 

PC/10 W/640K/1 Floppy (64303500i 


799” 

, *554“- 
»449"- 


BUY NOW AT DiSCGUNT WHOLESALE PRICES! 


r _ SOFTWARE I 

y'UeAMmlo ra.M-tJ 





KttUmm.TurtO Cor Turbo Baste 57.00* 

BOftUUtO INT. Turbo Pascal 4 0 57.00* 

OAC SfT. DAC Easv Accounting ...... $3.00* 

aamammmmEEi 

LOTUS OeVELOram Freelance ■ . 299.00* 

MECA Managing Vbur Money J 0 . 107.00* 

Miciapraiirfin.4.omin/srarPrDr . 215.M* 

MICROSOFT C' Cpmprldr .. 244.80* 
MICROSOFT Oi/rcn aes/C 4 aiVindOHS 55.00* 

lIliiintiift'BCTaMCiiFil* 

JWISH HAH. Note It or SOZ ... 45.00* 

XEROX CORF. Ventura PuOtisOer 450.00* 
sarmuic AVMUKi hj i/r mnwa. CAUFwrMcu. 


— 

■ HARD DRIVES. DRIVE CAROS, 6 TAPE BACKUP ■ 

1 THE 20MB Hd Disk Card 

•319.00* 

1 THE 20MB 1/2 Ht Hd Disk Kit 

259.00’ 

1 THE 30MB 1/2 Ht RLL Hd Disk Ki! 299.00* 

ARCHIVE BOMB Internal 

595.00’ 

IOMEGA Dual 20MB Drive w-Clrl 

1.799.00’ 

IOMEGA Bernoulli II 20MB Int 

902.00’ 

IRWIN I20D 20MB Internal Tape 

325.00’ 

IRWIN 145 40MB Internal Tape 

395.00* 

MAXTOR 380MB Int ESDI Hard Dnve 

3,899.00* 

MINISCRIBE 3650 40MB 1'2 Ht 

335.00* 

MINISCRIBE 6053 42MB Full Ht 

$49.00* 

MINISCRIBE 6085 71MB Full Ht 

759.00* 

MINISCRIBE 6128 110MB RLL Full Ht 

865.00* 

MOUNTAIN 50MB Dnvecard 

670.00* 

MOUNTAIN 20MB Dnvecard 

479.00* 

PIUS DEVEL. Hardcard 20 

519.00’ 

PLUS DEVEL. Hardcard 40 

769.00* 

PRUM 230MB 12MS Hard Disk 

2.100.00’ 

SEAGATE ST-251 42MB 40MS HD 

399.00* 

SEAGATE ST-4051 40MB Full Ht 

549.00* 

SEAGATE 5MD96 BOMB full Ht 

789.00* 

SEAGATE ST-225 20MB Hd Disk 

275.00* 


■ MONITORS ■ 



722 *410.00* 600S 

‘310.M* 

410A. 410W or 410G 

142.00* 

1280 625.00* 432 

159.00* 

732 412.00* 730V 

353.00* 

IRM 


8512 420 00* 8513 

510. 00* 



Multi-Mooe 

435.00* 

EGA 319.00* Color RGB 

249.00* 

12' Amber ttl 

05.00* 

MITSUBISHI 


1409 249.00* 1410 

345.00* 

NEC 


Multisync II JC-1402 

568.00* 

Multisync XL 

1,995.00* 

Multisync Plus 

872.00* 

PRINCETON 



PSM-03 149.00* HX-12E 

415.00* 

HX-12 Plus 369.00* Max-12E 

120.00* 

LM-300 465.00’ PSC-26 

309.00’ 

! 1!' Amber Dual Mode 

05.00* 


AST Model 80 

‘1,366.00* 

AST Model 120 

1,935.00* 

AST Model 170 

2.599.00* 

ATBT 6300 640K 1 Drive 

765.00* 

AT4T 6300 W1 Dr. 20MB HD 

1.025.00’ 

COMPAQ Deskpro 286 w 40MB 

2.325.00* 

COMPAQ Oeskprv 33660MB 

5,165.00* 

COMPAQ Deskpro 386 Model 130 

6,530.00' 

COMPAQ Deskpro 386 Model 300 

8,500.00’ 

ISM PS2 Mode! 30 ■ 

1,575.00* 

IBM PS2 Mode! 50 

2,495.00* 

IBM PS2 Model 80 w 70MB 

5,795.00* 

THE ■ 286 ^2 wSSMBHd Disk 

1,595.00* 

IHE 386 WW’TIMBHd Disk 

2,750.00* 

LOWEST PRICING ON 

CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS! 


•CITIZEIt^^ 




MSP-50 . 359.00’ Tnb 224 569.00* 

MSP-45 309.00* Tnb 124 425.00* 

EPSON 


;glia 


|NpT.|i'iU 


LQSOO . CAU L01050 CAU 

FX286E CAU EX800 CAU 



DISPLAY CARDS 


A.T.I. WP VGA ‘255.00* 

A.T.I. EGA Wonder 169.00’ 

A.T.I. Solution 109.00* 

HERCULES Graphics Card Plus 162.00* 

HERCULES Co/or Can/ 135.00* 

HERCULES //TCO/or Ca/U 279.00* 

ORCHID Turbo EGA 399.00* 

PARADISE Auto 4B0 149.00* 

PARADISE VGA Plus Card 238.00* 

QUAORAM Ultra VGA 339.00* 

QUADRAM Pros/nc EGA 229.00* 

STB VGA Extra 285.00* 

THE Super EGA 135.00* 

THE HfZO Mono Card PP 59.00* 

THE Color Card 59.00* 

VIDEO 7 Wga Deluxe 209.00* 

VIDEO 7 vega VGA 229.00* 






mtLSOZSriOUHZ Co-Processor. ‘299.00* 
1HTEL 8028: 8MHZ Co-Processor 235.00* 
p-* INTEL •. 142. Oil- 

IHTEL 8038.'-r6 Co-PfOcesspr .. 475.00* 

iinm iiTR 'iiM 

COMPAQ PORT. 386 MODEL 100 S.799.00’ 

COMPAQ PORT. Ill MODEL 40 

W6J0K 12MB Drive 40M8HD 3,995.00* 

NEC MULTISPEEO 

W 640k 2-3 5M 720K Floppy Or 1,225.00* 
NEC MULTISPEEO EL 

W640k 2-3 s 720KDiSkDr 1.459.00* 

NEC MULTISPEEO HO W20MB 2.195.00’ 

TOSHIBA T1000 LAPTOP W'512K.35 rZOk Drive 
MS-DOS. Super Twist 769.00* 

TOSHIBA TllOO-f LAPTOP W64QK. 

J-rjOK Dr IS. IP LCD Screen 1,399.00* 

TOSHIBA T1200 LAPTOP W'lMEG 35 '20k O' 
20MB HD. MS-DOS Super Twist 2,195.00* 
T0SHIBAT3100/201APTOPIV54PX35 rOOkOr 
20MB HD MS-DOS. Gas Plasma 2.845.00* 


FAX MACHINES/COPIERS 


SHARP Z-50 Cooler 
SHARP Copier Cartridge iBlacki 


•483.00* 
60.00* 

SHARP UX-80 Fax Machine 956.00* 

SHARP Fax Paper F020PR6 Box ol 6 Ftoils 22.00 ' 


P6 399.00* P7 553.28* 

P2200 335.00* P9XL . 985.00* 

OtJOQA 


193 419.00* ML294 4 690.00* 

ML 393 899.00* ML 182 - 203.00* 

I Pm— onic . 


10921 ...299.00* ’592 ..385.00* 

SEtXOSHA 

SK-3000 329.00 * 5P-160AI 139.in‘ 

TOSHIBA 

P321SL 463.00* Pagelaser i2 2.395.00* 
P351 SX 925.00* P341 SL 615.00* 



THK PC/10 V 
MONOCHROME 
SYSTEM 

With 640K. 360K 
Mitsubishi floppy 
disk drive, mono 
graphics adapter, 

1 serial port, 1 
parallel port, clock 
calendar & ganie 
port, 101 Key 
•reyboard 84303565 
PCno w/Color Card 84303575 *559' 

pcno Him Card/480x350 
Rest^uliOn 84303565 '.’49' 

[5 


®559 


00 * 


m 


HOUSTOH INSTRUMENTS All Models CAU 

5UMMAGRAPHICS 

Summashetch Plus i I2x12i ‘369.00* 

SUMMACRAPHICS 

Summasketch (12x181 569.00* 


MICE. ACCESSORIES 



1 LOGITECH ■ 

•79.00* 1 

krr MICROSOFT 


69.00* 

MICROSOn ■ *.' 



105.00* 

in' MICROSOFT ' 


115.00* 

M'CEHTRAt^. 

70.M* 

CURTIS Rub. - w Fax Protector 

63.00* 

KENSINGTON Masterpiece Pius 

99.00* 

MACH III Mach II Joystick 

30.25* 

PC NETWORK Printer Cable 

14.95* 

PTI Datashieid S8S 

45.00* 

PTI Datashieid SiOO 

52.00* 

QUAORAM Microfazer Par Par 

115.00* 

SONT 3 1 2 DSDD Box ol 10 

17,00* 

Sm 3 1 2 DSHD Box of 10 

45.00* 

IHE Wl-Key Keyboard 

69.00* 

THE 84-Kev Keyboard 

49.00* 

niE ISO h^air Replacement 

Power Suoph 

69.00* 

1 HE 200 Wart Replacement 

Power Supply 

99.00* 

CHIPS Set Of 9 64K nSONSi 

17.91* 

CHIPS Set0l9 2S6K 1 ISONS' 

42.75* 

COMPUTER COVERUP CARRYING 

CASE 

For uptopi . 

59.00* 

OISKETHS '501 5-1 4 DSDD 

17.50* 

OISKETHS 25) 3-12 DSDD 

CAU 


Biif.i'itf-a! 


259.00' 


HAYES SmarrmcKJem 1200 
HAYES Smartmodem I200B 
w Smartcom 

HAYES Smartmodem 24008 
w'Smartcom 

I HE ' 1200 BAUD External 
HIE 1200 BAUD Int w Software 
I HE 2400 BAUD External 
I HE 2400 BAUD Int w Software 149.00* 
US ROBOTICS HST $600 599.00* 


259.00* 

389.00* 

99.00* 

79.00* 

168.00* 


MULTIFUNCTION CARDS 


AST Advantage Premium ’270.00* 

AST Six F^Ck Premium 185.00* 

INTEL Above Board ATw l28Kot2MB 319.00* 
miL Above Board w $4K Of 2MB 215.00* 
ORCHID finy Turbo 286 239.00’ 

ORCHID Twinturbo 12 375.00* 

IHE Multi 364 w OK PSGCLKCAl 67.00* 

IHE Multi 1 SMB w OK PS G 119.00* 

IHE Multi I'D AT w P-SG 60.00* 

IHE Multi 10 w PSGCLKCAL 60.00* 

IHE 2MB Ftam Card wOK Of 2MB 99.00* 


AMOEK Laser Drive 1 CD-ROM 

•580.00* 

CMS int 20MB Hard Disk w Controller for 

PS 2 Model 25 

269.00* 

CMS Same as Above » 40MB 

399.00* 

KODAK 6 6M8 Floppy Dnve 
MITSUBISHI 3 2 Floppy Dnve 

312.00* 

2MB 

95.00* 

MITSUBISHI XOK 1 2 Ht Drive • 

65.00’ 

IHE ) 2 Ht Add-On Floppy 

75.00* 


IRENT SOFTWARE BEFORE YOU BUY 

Members are etgible to lOtn The NEW PC NETWORKIs 
Business and Game Software Rental Libraries to evaluate 
products tor a fun 14 days or 30 days to see if they ireet 
wur needs Just 35% OF THE MEMBER WHOLESALE 
PRICE We feature over 1,000 available titles. 


T.'.« PC NETWORK liwr-tici,rT=7' prtt 8*. abatie 
tn« wholesale price, plus sh>[>;ting & handling AUpnees 
shown are tvhoieiiale and reflect a 3 cash discount Minimum 
shoo>ng $4 00 per order Inierrational orders can lor shipping 
A handling charges Money orders personal and company 
checks please enow 7 worKirtg pays to dear All pnees subtect 
tpchartge Produms suO)eci to availaPiMy 


1 -800-621 -S-A-V-E 

In ILLINOIS: 1-312-280-0002 
TECH SUPPORT: 1-312-280-0280 PCB038 

CUSTOMER SERVICE: 1-312-280-1567 , 

Fax:1-312-943-6010 Telex: 510-601-5955 
Monday-Friday: 8:30AM-6:00PM ^ 

Saturday: 10:OOAM-4:OOPM [J S 

The NEW PC NETWORK mSSM ^=^1 

320 West Ohio, Chicago, Illinois 60610 ' ^ 


CIRCLF 354 ON Rt ADER'sS^^^RO 




















Allngton &fflputer Product/ give/ you the 
be/t price/ on IBfl) PC/. . . 


. . .and COMPAQ too! 


/ \ 

IBM AT 339 (8 MHZ) 

1.2 Floppy. 512K. 

30 MB Hard Disk 

w/Monochrome Monitor . . . $3895 
w/Color Monitor $4095 

IBM XT 

CALL FOR CUSTOM 
^ CONFIGURATIONS ^ 


IBM PERSONAL SYSTEM II 

Model 30, 2 floppies w/Monochrome Monitor $1475 

Model 30, 20 MB w/Monochrome Monitor $1899 

Model 50, w/Monochrome Monitor $2875 

Model 60, w/44 MB and Monochrome Monitor $3749 

Model 60, w/70 MB and Monochrome Monitor $4395 

Model 80, w/44 MB and Monochrome Monitor $5295 

Model 80. w/70 MB and Monochrome Monitor S6375 

Model 80, w/115 MB and Monochrome Monitor $8395 

w/Color Monitor add $250 ^ 


COMPAQ 286 


DESKTOP — 1 Drive 

640K, 40 MB, Monitor $2695 

PORTABLE II MODEL IV - 
1 Drive 640K, 20 MB $2850 

PORTABLE III — 

1 Drive 640K, 20 MB $3695 

w/40 MB $4195 


COMPAQ 386 


Model 40 (16 MHZ) $4595 

Model 60 (20 MHZ) $5579 

Model 130 (20 MHZ) $6950 

Model 300 (20 MHZ) $9450 


COMPAQ PORT. 386 


COMPAQ DESK PRO 


1 Drive, 640K, 20 MB 

Green or Amber Monitor $1695 


Model 40 
Model 100 


$5975 

$7375 


WUGO 1 0 MHZ 
TURBO XT 

10 MHZ keyboard switchable 
clock speed, 640K Ram, 1 floppy 
drive, 20 MB hard disk, parallel 
and game ports, clock calendar, 
monochrome graphics adaptor, 
monochrome monitor, 3 year 
limited warranty. 

$1149 


DRIVES & TAPES 

360K Floppy for PC $99 SEAGATE HARO DISKS 
360K Floppy for AT $115 20 MB for XT (ST225). $279 

20 MB Tape for XT. $379 30 MB for XT (ST238) . $299 

20 MB Tape for AT. $379 40 MB for AT (ST251) . $399 

40 MB Tape for AT 40 MB for AT (ST251-1 )$489 

or Compaq 386 $489 80 MB for AT $869 

EVEREX PRIAM HARD DISKS 

60 MB Internal .... $679 40 MB $679 

60 MB External . . . $679 60 MB $819 

130 MB $1999 

IOMEGA 

10 + 10 Bernoulli w/Controller $1489 

20 + 20 Bernoulli w/Controller $1950 

PLUS hard card 20 MB $539 

.PLUS hard card 40 MB $799. 


VIDEO BOARDS 

ATI EGA Wonder $189 

Everex EGA Autoswitch . . $139 

Graphics Card $79 

Hercules Graphics Plus . . $179 

NEC GB1 $259 

Paradise Autoswitch 480 . $169 

Paradise EGA $319 

Quadram Prosync $239 

STB EGA Plus $239 

Vega Deluxe $239 

Vega VGA $289 


MICE 

Mouse Systems $99 

Microsoft $109 

Logitech $74 


MONITORS 

AMDEK 

310A $129 

410A $149 

600 $349 

722 $439 

PRINCETON 

MAX12 $149 

HX12 $415 

HX12E $449 

Ultrasync $519 

IBM 

8502 $199 

8512 $459 

8513 $519 

NEC Multisync $599 

NEC Multisync Plus $879 

SAMSUNG Color $259 

SONY Multiscan $599 




Kington 

C>mputer 

Product/.inc. 


3025-E S. MALMO 
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL 60005 



FOR ORDERS S SYSTEMS QUOTES: 

800 - 548-5105 

CUSTOMER SERVICE AND IN ILLINOIS 312-228-6333 

SHIPPING 312-228-6333 

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 312-228-1470 

Prices and Availability Subject To Change Without Notice 












Bringing you tho bo/t in IDdl compotibio 
poriphoroi/ /inco 1984. 


OUR EPSON PRiNTER PRODUCTS ARE SO GOOD WE NEED TO SHOW THEM OFF! 


LX 800 

FX 286E 

LQ 500 

LQ 850 

EX 800 

$189 

$429 

$319 

$489 

$389 

FX 86E 

LQ 800 

LQ 2500 

LQ 1050 

EX 1000 

$289 

$369 

$819 

$659 

$479 


PRINTERS 

EPSON 


LX 800 .. . 

. $189 

LQ 1050. . 

. $659 

FX 86E . . . 

. $289 

LQ 500 .. . 

. $319 

FX 286E . . 

. $429 

LQ 2500. . 

. $819 

LQ 800 .. . 

. $369 

EX 800 .. . 

. $389 

LQ 850 .. . 

. $489 

EX 1000.. 

. $479 


OKIDATA 


192 Plus/193 Plus 

$299/$449 

292 w/Module . . . . 


. $449 

293 w/Module 


. $589 

393 



. $959 

Pacemark 



$1749 


TOSHIBA 


321 S/L/341 S/L . . 

$499/$659 

351 SX. . . 



$1010 


NEC 


P6 

. $435 

P7 

. $599 

3550 

. $759 

P9XL 

$1089 

P5XL 

. $869 

P2200 .... 

. $349 


PANASONIC 


1080 1 .. . . 

. $189 

1091 1.... 

. $199 


IBM 


Quietwriter III 


$1225 

Proprinter II 


. $389 

Proprinter X24 . . . 


. $549 

Proprinter XL 


. $549 

Proprinter XL24 . . 


. $759 

HEWLETT-PACKARD 


LaserJet II 



$1699 


DICONIX 


^50 



. $32^ 


( SOFTWARE ^ 


Crosstalk $109 

D Base III Plus $379 

Framework $349 

IBM Displaywrite IV $299 

Lotus 123 $299 

Managing Your Money $125 

Microsoft Word $209 

Multimate Adv. II $259 

Norton Utilities $59 

R Base System V $409 

Smartcom $49 

Symphony $429 

Ventura Desktop Pubi $459 

Volkswriter III $145 

Word Perfect 4.2 $199 

Word Perfect Library $55 

Wordstar 2000+ $239 


^MULTIFUNCTION^ 

BOARDS 


Everex Magicard 384K $149 

AST 6 Pack W/384K $169 

AST 6 Pack Premium W/512K . $219 

AST Advantage $259 

AST Rampage PC W/256K .... $239 

AST Rampage AT W/512K $339 

Orchid Tiny Turbo $279 

Intel Above Board PC $249 

Intel Above Board PC P/S $279 

Intel Above Board AT $329 

Intel Above Board AT P/S $349 

Irma Board $695 

AST 5251-11 $529 


AST 5251-11 Plus Enhanced .. $599 


^ MODEMS ^ 

HAYES 

1200 $289 

1200 B Alone $259 

1200 B w/Software $289 

2400 $429 

2400 B $429 

Everex 300/1200 w/Software . . . $99 

Everex 2400 Internal $179 

Everex 2400 External $249 


CHIPS 


64K Ram Chips . . . . 

9 for $11 

256K Chips 

each $4.50 

8087-3 

$109 

8087-2 

$149 

80287 

$159 

80287-8MHZ 

$249 

80287-10MHZ 

$299 

80387-16 

$499 

^0387-20 

$75^ 


★ ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS ★ 


AST RAMPAGE AT 

W/2 MEGABYTES 

$599 

NEC MULTISYNC 
MONITOR 

$599 

MICROSOFT 

MOUSE 

$109 

ZENITH 2 DRIVE 
LAPTOP 

$1695 

EPSON PRINTER STAND 
W/PRINTER PURCHASE 

$15 

EVEREX 300/1200 
MODEM W/SOFTWARE 

k $99 

SEAGATE 30 MB 
HARD DISK KIT 

$299 

HP 

LASERJET II 

$1699 

NEC 

MULTISPEED EL 

$1695 

D BASE III 

$379 


FOR ORDERS A SYSTEMS QUOTES: 

800-548-5105 

CUSTOMER SERVICE AND IN ILLINOIS 312-228-6333 

SHIPPING 312-228-6333 

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 312-228-1470 

Prices and Availability Subject To Change Without Notice 


Arlington 
&mpufcer 
P^roduct/ Jnc. 

3025-E S. MALMO 
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL 60005 



WHOLESALE PRICE TO PUBLIC! 


PINECOM 10MHz TURBO XT COMPLETE SYSTEM 

• 2S6K RAM on board (Exp. to 640K) , 

• 1 SOW power supply (ready for 2 more bard disks} ' 

• Mini AT case w/LEO, keylock & reset button 

• one 360K floppy disk drive w/controller 

• AT style keyboard (84 keys) 

• 8088-2 microprocessor 

• 8iBMIA) slots 

• TTL amber monitor 

• Monochrome graphic card w/phnter port 

• * Add S200 for RGB color system 

• * Add S4S0 for EGA system 



Fully Assembled & Tested 
1 Year Parts & Labor Warranty . 


$49900 


CIRCLE 255 ON READER SERVICE CARD 

PINECOM ‘AT’ 286 COMPUTER 

512K RAM (Exp. to1MG on board) 
1 .2M floppy disk drive w/controller 
6/10 MHz clock selectable 
80286-10 CPU 
220W power supply 
I AT style keyboard (84 keys) 

Clock calendar w/battery backup 



Fully Assembled & Tested 
1 Year Parts & Labor Warranty . 

*Tha LarKf Mark Speed Test, Landmark Software Inc. 


$799.00 

* MtrsauwaiwjcrTTO 


pinecom' 

I ’*AI hard disks are tormaited 10 specifiiai^ 

* ‘Ask us atwut prtntefs" 

SEAGATE ST-22S 20MG hard disk w/controller (65ms) 

SEAGATE ST-236 30MG hard disk w/controtler (65ms) 

SEAGATE ST-4038 30M6 hard disk for AT (38ms) 

SEAGATE ST.251 40MG hard disk (40ms) 

SEAGATE ST-4096 80MG hard disk (28ms) 

^“"“““““"““""“1 720 3Vy floppy disk drtve(insialiat!Ooa«ilal4e) .. 

wfl CokK graphic card w/printar port 

Monochrome graphic card w/prmtar port 

EGA card w/printef port 

EGAWonder card 

I? monochrome monitor 

IT'fUt screen monochrome monitor 

1 4’ nwochrome monitor 

14* RGB cokx monitor 

14*E6Amonitor 

NEC Multisync EGA monitor 

Copy It PC option board (copies all prot. software) 

Logitach serial mouse w/software 

4 serial ported tor AT I MS-400-AT) 

4 serial port card for XT (MS-400-XT) 

300/1 2(X) baud internal modem (short card) 

300/1200 baud external modem (Mitsuba) 

EPSONFX-86E240cpsdotmalrtx80col.NLQ . 
EPSON FX-266E 240cp$ dot matrix 1 32 col. NLO . . 

EPSONLQ-1000180cps24pin132col NLO 

OtaOATAML-182 120cps dot matrix 80 col. NLQ 
OtaOATA ML-192 200cps dot matrix 80 col NLQ 
OtaOATA ML-193 200cp$ dot matrix 132 COl NLO 
CITIZEN 1800 ISOepsdotmainx 80 col NLQ 

NeCV-20ctep 

Upgrade kit for your PC/XT to 640K mam memory . 


SPECIAL 
SALE PRICES 



i a s 


PINE COMPUTER INC. 

9690 TELSTAR AVENUE. EL MONTE. CA 91731 
STORE HOURS: MON ■ SAT 9:00 AM 6:00 PM 

PHONE ORDERS WELCOME (818) 575-1882 


8278.66 

319.80 

518.60 

420.00 

820.00 

135.00 

60.00 
60.00 
160.00 
220.00 

00.00 

05.00 

120.00 

269.00 
. 360.00 

500.00 

es.oo 

09.00 

125.00 

05.00 

85.00 

125.00 

360.00 

415.00 

678.00 

245.00 

366.00 

529.00 

210.00 
20.n 

145.00 


TERMS; VISA or Mastercard accepted COO order 
on Cashiers Check only Check shipping charges when 
ordering 3*’o surcharge tor all credit card purchases 

TELEX: 5106017376 PINECOM 
FAX 818-575-1897 


CIRCLE 255 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


This Section Is 
For Serious Buyers 

We’ve rounded up all the direct marketers 
who want your business and made it 
easier for you to find them in our Direct 
Marketing Connection. 

Now you can quickly find the right PC 
products and services, the right price and 
the right vendor, right here in this special 
section. 



Not Sure About 
A Product Or Service 
You’ve Seen Here? 

Then why not fill out the 
reader service card right now, 
send it to us, and you’ll receive 
more information directly from 
the vendor or manufacturer. 



MAGAZINEi 







40MB PC-Xr : $099 


o 

c 

o 

<> 

<> 

o 


o 

c 

o 

o 

o 

o 


Standard Features Include 

100% IBM PC-XT Compatible. 

8088-1 Pmceaaor- 4.77/10 Mhz. 

640K RAM on Motheiboard. 

Enhanced PC-AT Style Case. 

One 360K Floppy Disk Drive. 

Standard PC-AT Style Keyboard. 

DSI’s Added Value 

At No AdiUtionat Cost 

One Serial & Two Parallel Ports. 
Cloek/Calendar S Game Port 
High Capacity 40MB Hard Drive. 
Hercules Compatible Graphics. 
12“ Amber Monochrome Monitor. 
One Year Warranty. 



CompM* EGA Syttom • Only $1379 


COMPLETE & READY TO USE 
AN 
ESi 



DSI 

Durable Solutions, Inc. 

2 14 North Main St. • Natick. MA 

( 6 17 ) 653-717 5 

Route 1 2 • Weatmoreland, NH 

( 603 ) 357-1298 


t IRCIE3*70N READER SERVICE CARI 



Whats Important Price or Service? 
G.M.C. OFFERS BOTH! 


COMPUTERS 

NFC Miiltiffpeed $1290. 

NBC MiiltiBTX*c<l FL..$IA90. 
NFC MnUlspeeil IID..$CaU 

1BMPS29. 

Model 30, 

2 Drives $1257. 

^Vxlel 30, 20 Meg. $1702. 
tVylel 50, 20 Meg. $2666. 
Mfxlel 60, AU Meg.. $3850. 
Model 60, 70 Meg. .$A628. 
Motlel 80, AO Meg.. $5126. 
Model 80, 70 Meg..$62A9. 

Compaq 


LASER PRMTEnS 

H-P Laser Jet Series II. ...$1699. 

Il-P l^aer Jet $1999. 

n-P Laser Jet Plus $Call 

M-P Laser Jet 500 Plus $Call 

H-P Laser Jet Inclixles Toner Cartridge. 
PRtllERS 

QTIZEN 

120D....$135. MSP-50 $iA0. 

180D $155. MSP-55 $A35. 

MSP-A0..$265. Premiere 35..$A20. 
MSP-A5..$375. Tribute 22A..S565. 

EPSON All Mo«leIa..;.$(:aU 
H P PLOTTERS 


WTEL FNHANCFMFTTT PRODUCTS 
ALL MODFL IN S-pXJK 


Craplilrs Plollet Drafting Plotter 

Deskpro 386, AO MEG SA657. |i_p 7AA0A. . . .$(’nl 1 n-p 7595A..$Call 

Deskpro 386, Model 60 20Wiz. . .$5570. u_p 7A75A. . . .$1382. 

Deskpro 386, Model 130 20MHz. .$7050. ||_p 7550A. . . .$2900. 

Deskpro 386, Model 300 20MH7’.. .$9166. 

Portable II Model 2 $189A. 

Portable I! Morlel A .....$2797. 

Portable III Model 20 $3572, 

Portable 111 Model AO $A155. 

MONTTORS 

NEC MMXK 

Multisync GS/W $167. 310A $115. 

A10A....$139. 

A32A.,..$150. 

600S....$306. 

732 $389. 


Moth Coprocessors 


fkilt{s)'nc GS/A $167. 

Fkiltisync GS/G, . , , . .$167. 
Monograph System, ,$1099. 
MullsyiK II JC-lA02.$CaU 


8087 $I3A. 

8087-2.. $190. 
8U87-1..$27A. 

80287... $210. 

Alcove ITonnl 
286/512. ..$A10. 
Piggyback/512. . .$A39. 


802878.... $365. 
80287-10.. $380, 
80387-16.. $610. 
80387-20.. $829. 


tS • TriulMRnrki* o( tBH mvl 

R.H.C. roKcy: All ntdvrn iind^r Ston.OO 
pl*i,lir sLon hanilling 199, nen- 

>|#f#rtl*« rnuftin aubl^rt lo r9*t<*ckl"t 
lee. Trick nubjci-t to cbnngk. All prircn 
■ tk rniih. <i«l<l it for NCAVIka anil |nr 
A»ki, Nn C.O.P. nirtarn. Alt anlka flnkl. 


G.M.C.H 

Nattonwid* Toll Fre« 

'800 - 634-5432 


CIRCLE 262 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


— WoWARE 


— COMPUTER 

> PRINTERS 


ACER 386 

CALL AST Turbo Loser 

CAU 

AST PfWTMifn 

CALL Ciltan 1203 

159- 

mtm: XT or at 

CALL Cttmn MSP40 

295 

NECMuihspeed 

CALL Ogonu I50P 

335 

Sharp Laptop 

OLi EPSON All Models 

CAU 

Toahtbo Lotrtops 

CAU NKP2200 

355 


NECLC890 

CAU 

— DRIVES/TAPE — 1S2 

SeogcAB 20MB Kit 279 

Seooois 30MB Kit 325 AAbO Loser 

199 

476 

CAU 

SeagatBST251 28MS 






BariKxjiii 601 * 

Archive XL 40M6 Tope 

Auloswticn EGA ..80 
^ PorodiseVGA+ 

(63 

259 




OTHER HARDWARE ativip 

279 

Ho^ModBms 

CALL (SenoQ Super hi Res 

199 

Prodicoi ModerTTs 

CALL VeooVGA 

309 

AST Tuboscon 

1349 384KRamCord 

109 

Prmoeton ScomBT 

749 AiMnlogBPrem 51 2K 

299 

Kurto Drgitinrs 

CALL Advanlope/2 

299 

Summo8k*>ch Plus 

399 Rampoge/2 

239 

Rokmd Plotters 

CALL SaPokPiemun 

199 

SMeelP600 

689 Aboe Boord 266 

319 

AST TurtxxrtSion 

1469 AST Hoi Shot/286 

356 

Mognovoi MorMors 

CAU Moch 20 Turbo 

329 

NEC Multisync II 

CAU Jei386 

899 

Prmcekx) Ultrosync 

559 Inboard 386 PC 

769 

SONY MONITORS 

CAU lnBcord386AT 

1049 


SOFTWARE 


—ACCOUNTING SPREADSHEETS — 


AccPKEosy 

57 Boeing Cole 

206 

EIPI Accounting 

185 Framework N 

CALL 

ComptoieBus Actng 

159 Ldius/Svmphony 

CAU 

OAC EZ Accounting 

GO McrosohEa^el 

319 

New Views 

CALL Querttro 

125 

Open Systems 

WORD PROCESSING 

Howordsofl Test Prep 




^ Microsoh Works 

119 

DATABASE 

MuihrrwieAdwnioQell 

259 

Data Perfect 

266 PFS Firs Choice 

79 

dBase III Plus 

CAU PFS Prowme 

117 

06)0. 

86 WordSar200CH-rei3 

195 

Fo*8ase + 

215 Wordstar Pro 

236 

Rapid File 

179 WorOPeded 

205 

Reti« 

UTILITIES- 


Paradox20 

O&A 

^ Quick BoskJ/C 
^ Turbo Poscoi/Bosic/C 

67 

63 

GRAPHICS 

OesQirwr 20 

77 

Byline 

195 Wmdews 

66 

PogeMoKer 

PFS T ESI Publisher 

CAU Windows 386 

129 

61 Brooklyn Bodge 

// 

Venfuro 

CALL DesWmk 

95 

AutoShfllCh 

54 0SBockup + 

37 

Boeing (Staph 

205 EtfSko 

96 

Design Cod or 30 

165 Gopher 

37 

OiagrQph/2000 

259 Ldplink 

75 

OrmwAppiouee 

275 Moceutiiinas 

59 

EGAPoinlV2005 

53 Metro 

63 

Fonkiey 

42 Mirror 11 

40 

Generic Cod 

55 Norton Guides 

56 

Graph n-ih* -Box 

59 Norton Utilities Mr 

79 

Horwjrd Graphics 

285 SQ2 Plus 

59 

Or Halo M w/Mouse 

69 PC Tools OekM 

43 

Fehx 

135 XtreePro 

71 

Manager iaousb 

91 StotgrophKs 

479 

Mtcrosofi Mouse 

105 Super Project Expert 

419 


800 - 662-2686 orders only 
lor Co Order*. Tech Support. 416-668-9350 
Call or Write for Free Catalog 

PAYMENT: Vita. ModerCofd. Cathler'9Checlca. Per- 
sortol Check* with hold. QuaKfled PO.* CA orders 
odd soles tax. SOFTWAM SHIPPING— UPS ground-2\ 
of order. $S min UPS 6lue-3X o( order. $7 min 
HABDWASE — CoN for cnorges. DETECTS: Reptoceo or 
repolred at our oolton RETURNS: Subject to restock 
fee 

Alt Products New ¥Ftth run worronties 

Price ft CNOiiaDWiy subject lo chonge wiibout noSce. 


THE BAY' 



icOMPANY l 


584 CASTRO ST., SUITE 487 SAN FRANCISCO, CA 941 14 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
343 




ilimLMI The PC Buyers Guide to Products and Services 


This is your showcase— your direct source of information 
on PC products and services. PC Magazine Marketpiace 
gives you quick access to exactly what you’re looking for, 
plus information regarding price, discounts, specifications 
and delivery. Use this guide to help you decide which 
products to buy. 



Please write to: 

PC Magazine, 

Box 2445, Boulder, 
CO 80322. Include 
your mailing label 
from a recent issue 
of PC Magazine for 
faster service. 
Please allow up to 
60 days for change 
of address to take 
place. 

' ^ 



TcckeItTD 

The T.imit 


Today’s high speed micro- 
computers process and 
^manipulate data at break- 
neck speeds. Speeds that add 
power and performance to PCs 
and PC networks. Making them the 
hottest vehicles around. But slow disk drives 
cause I/O bottlenecks. Traffic could stand still. 

DOSUTILS' by Ontrack Computer Systems is a powerful utili- 
ties package designed to give you the edge. Programs for seek 
performance and data transfer rates provide test results to define 
optimal disk subsystem configurations so you can travel in the 
fast lane. Non-destructive low-level formatting software dynam- 
ically changes your disk’s interleave value to add speed without 
affecting data. File maintenance, data recovery and diagnostics 
programs add polish to the package. 

Optimize your PC’s prerformance for $99.95. Dealers inquire 
for pricing. 

Orders taken at 800 
752-1333 (Minnesota 
612 937 - 1107 .) 


oumacK 

COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC 

6200 Bury Drive. Eden Prairie. Minnesota 55346 


CIRCLE 749 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


If It ’s 

Important To You, 
You’ll Find It Here... 

PC Magazine is the first 
place to look for the PC 
products and services you 
require — at the price that’s 
right for you, from the 
vendor you want to do 
business with. 


I i I 
I I I 

\ n 


MAGAZINE 


Search the Scriptures Resident 


Finally, everything you’ve always wanted 
in an on-line Bible. 


It’s memory resident, so it’s 
always available. From any 
program. 

It's flexible. You can search 
all or part of the Bible, 
searching for words or 
phrases. You can copy verses 
directly into your document, 
one or several at a time. You 
have two ways to build topical 
verse lists, and three methods 
for merging lists. 

It’s also fast. It will search 
the entire Bible in under 3 
minutes, the New Testament 
in only 30 seconds.* 

Search the Scriptures costs 
$185. A demo program is 
available for $20. Call 
1 •800-255-8602 to order (in 
LA call 318-322-0897). VISA 
and MasterCard accepted. 


• Includes the complete King 
James or New International 
version of the Bible. 

• Pop-up memory resident 
program. Accessible at all 
times, from any program. 

• Copies verses direaly into 
word processing documents. 

• Occupies only 2.5 MB of 
disk space. 

• Searches the Bible for one 
or more words or phrases at a 
time. 

• Builds and merges verse 
lists, with up to 1,0(X) verses 
in each list. 

• Displays any verse in less 
than one second.* 

• Non-memory resident ver- 
sion with integrated word pro- 
cessing available for $250. 


CIRCLE 384 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


\PRftWpSoff . Inc. 


*8 MH/ AT, 30 MB hard disk I30U Hudson Lane. Suite 10. Monroe, LA7l20i 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
345 





HARDWARE SOFTWARE continued SOFTWARE continued MISCELLANEOUS 


ADD-ON-BOARDS 347 

CABLES 347 

COMMUNICATIONS . . . 347 
COMPUTER 

SYSTEMS 347,348 

DISK DRIVES 348 

DISKETTES 348 

EXPANSION 

UNITS 348,349 

MONITORS 349 

PERIPHERALS 349 

PLOTTERS 350 

POWER 

PROTECTION 

POWER SUPPLIES 350 

PRINTERS 

SECURITY 350 

SPEED DEVICES 350 


SOFTWARE 

ACCOUNTING 351 

ARTIFICIAL 

INTELLIGENCE 351 

BACKUP SYSTEMS .... 351 
BUSINESS 351, 352 


BUSINESS PROJECT 


MANAGEMENT 

BUSINESS TIME 
MANAGEMENT 352 

COMMUNICATIONS ... 352 

CONSTRUCTION 352 

DATA BASE 352 

DATA ENTRY 352 

DATA 

MANAGEMENT 

DESKTOP 

PUBLISHING 353 

EDUCATION 353 

ENGINEERING 353 

ENTERTAINMENT/ 

GAMES 353,354 

FINANCIAL 354 

GENERAL 

GRAPHICS 355 

HEALTH 355 

INVENTORY 355 

LANGUAGES 

LEGAL 355 

MAILING 

PROGRAMS 355 

MANUFACTURING 

MEDICAL 355, 356 


MULTI-USER 

SYSTEMS 

MUSIC 356 

ONE-OF-A-KIND 356 

OPERATION SYSTEMS .... 

PREVENTATIVE 
MAINTENANCE 356 

PROGRAMMERS 
TOOLS 356, 357 

PUBLIC DOMAIN 357 

REAL ESTATE 357 

RELIGION 358 

SALES 

MARKETING 358 

SCIENTIFIC 

SECURITY 358, 359 

SERVICES 

SHAREWARE 

STATISTICS 359 

TAXES 359, 360 

TERMINAL 

EMULATION 360 

TRAINING 

TRAVEL 

UTILITIES 360, 361 

WORD 

PROCESSING 361 


ACCESSORIES ... 

.... 362 

BAR CODING .... 

362, 363 

BOOKS 


BUSINESS 
OPPORTUNITIES . 

...363 

CATALOGUES . . . 

...363 

COMPUTER 
INSURANCE 

.... 363 

COMPUTER LEASING 

COMPUTER SERVICES .... 

COMPUTER TRAINING. . . , 

CONSULTANTS 


CONVERSION SERVICE . . . 

DATA 

CONVERSION .... 

.... 363 

DIGITIZERS 


DISK CONVERSION 

... .363 

DISKETTE COPY 
SERVICE 

363,364 

EMPLOYMENT 
OPPORTUNITIES . 


FURNITURE 


MAILING LISTS . . 


NETWORKING . . . 


PUBLICATIONS . . 


SUPPLIES 

. . . 364 

USED EQUIPMENT 



Advertising Rates and Information; PC Magazine Classified Marketplace 


PC Magazine Classified Marketplace is a special economical section for product and service listings. 
Listings are grouped by category and sold by column inches. Second color option available. 

Standard Directory Listings ate also available for a minimum of 4 issues at $440 per issue ($1760 total). 
For additional information call 212-S03-SI 15. 


PC Magazine ClassiTied Advertising Staff 
One Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016 
(212) 503-5115 


Advertising Director 
Kathryn J. Cumberlandcr 
Sales Manager 
Daniel L. Rosensweig 
Sr. Advertising Coordinator 
Monica Dixon 
Advertising Coordinators 
Ana Marie Gonzales 
Linda Annis-Lopez 


Production Manager 
Anne Brockinton 
Production Coordinator 
Wendy Long 


Account Managers 
Glenda Campbelt (2t2l 543-51 18 
NY. CA, PA. VA. DC. OH. AK. WY. MA 
Mary Jo Nash (2121 503-5156 

TX. MN. Wl. AR. NC. IN. Rl. DE. SC. LA. ID, MT, OVERSEAS 
Dennis Leavey (212) 503*5176 
UT. TN. NB. HI. (CA 94000 & UP) 

ElUol Bryan (212) 503*5175 

WV. FL. VT, NH. (CA 939% DOWN) 

Michael Brooks (212) 503-5125 

MI. CT. IL. KY. ME. OR. OK, AL. MO. NM. lA 

Daniel Rosensweig (212) 503*5115 

NJ, WA. MD, AZ. CO, NV. MS. KS. ND. 

SD (AIX CANADA) 






PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. 1988 

346 


V.. 





"V 


< 


HARDWARE/ADD-ON BOARDS 


FAST 88. 

Makes your PC i i T ij 

run like an AT! j J ® 

Ul^ Choice 

■ Needs r>o slot ■ Select speed by 
switch or software ■ 100% compat- 
ible with all software ■ Works with 
8087 ■ 738 Mhz BNorton « 2.8 

without CPU S 99.00 

FAST 88 with 6088-2 $1 05.00 
FAST 88 with V20-6 $1 19.00 

ChiPCLOC 

10-year clock/calendar 

IN A CHIP! 

■ Easy plug-in ■ 10-year battery 

■ Never set dateAime again 

■ No slot needed ■ 1(X)% compatible 
CMPCLOK w/software NOW $49.00 

iS: HOT SHOT 

ni 

Give your PC a 10 Mhz 80266! 

■ Norton SI - 103 

■ EEMS compatible 

■ Intel 60286 CPU at 10 Mhz 

■ Fits into short slot 

■ 16K bytes Cache memory. 

■ Software “hot key” to use 8088 

■ List Price $645 

Call for our Lxtw Price! 

1-SOO-722-2353 
30-day money-back guarantee 

1-312-529-2552 in IL 
FAX: 1-312-894-6048 

COMPUQUEST Engineering Inc 60193 °rcl6».o6re»d€»s£«v,cec«o 



Never enter time and date again. 

II $49.95 Slotless Clock-Calendar 
Compatible with most computers. 

Easy to install. 

Replaceable battery. 

• 30-day money-back guarantee. 

• Great gift idea. 

To Order (214) 788-5198 

Or write to Microsync 
15018 Beltway Drive 
Dallas. Texas 75244 ^ 

Please add $2. 50 for shipping & handling 

ORCLE 562 OW RCAOeR SCRVICe CARO 


COMMUNICATIONS 



fxn CALL 
InMrMXM U3S 
TMMki CALL 

AMarfAlCarf S3M 


He>N FAX ‘39500 

BEST PAX MPCR PRICING NATIONWIDE 
CONVERT f.C. TO PAX MACHINE 


SRtr*UX30/IO SSn/MS 

SMr9P0300/500/700 CAU 
ATAT3S0O/391O S13tS/S1SIS 
AT«T3970/3UO StItS/SnSO 
NmimkKXFIIS 31949 


Sii«r»F015e/P0910 SUZ/SIMI 
S««yt 100/919 91199/91979 

Onu lO/n/SO 91R0/S1490/CALL 
TMNbl90100/TF211 91199/91479 
N.W.ItH 71001(1 rrvtiMV) 91179 
CwMMflFAX/PlcIMlOO CALL 
Ttm*: PrtC 0 » COD *2% AcirocA }0% 

TataoMM fratfRcU Cutar. 23Si1 Si T*r» Si.. *213. El Tar*. CA •2S30 
(714)73rt5SS * FAX 714'f70-27S0 

aRCLE S83 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


640K MotherBoard Upgrades 

640K RAM without using an expansion slol Our 
upgrades allow easy insertion ol 256K chips on 
the system-board 100% compatible. 30 day 
$-back gM. 2 yr. wmly (Compaq Pixtible: S29 
($99 w/memory) IBM-XT , 3270 Por&ble. $39 
($109 w/memory) IBM-PC : $49 ($119 w/mem- 
ory) $4 s/h. Site Disc Dealers Welcome 
ARISTO Compuiers. Inc. 

16611 El Camino Real. Suite 213'M 
Houston. TX 77058 
713/480-6288 or 800/3ARIST0 


CABLES 


C 30 [^ 

Custom 

Cables for LAN’s 

Ethernet— Token Ring, RG62, 59. 58. 
Twinax. Dual Wang. Telco. Mod adap- 
ters, RJ11. 12. 45. octopus cables. 
Harmonicas, V.35. M50, IEEE-488, 
RS232.422.449. parallel, ribbon cable, 
switches. Baiuns, surge sentry, con- 
nector parts, bulk cable, tools 

Communication 
Cabie Company 

PO B<m 600 Wayna PA190B7 • 215-644 1900 
ORCLE SS4 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


COMPUTER SYSTEMS 


COMPUTER 

SYSTEMS 


IBM 

Modd 30 8mhz MOk 2/3.5' . . . .$1225 
Modd 30 8mhz 640k 20mb . . . .$1695 
Modd SO lOinhz Im 3.3 20mb . .$2595 
AU Other Modcb Avtilabk $ all 

iTMWIg 

Deskpro 2S6k 2 Drive $1295 

Dcskpro/286 640k 1.2 20mb. . . .$2495 
All Other Models Aviilable . . . S all 

Smhz XT 640k 2dr mono $695 

»iiihzAT512k 1.2 20mb $1195 

ikriphersis A Sofhvsre $ all 

We Will Bat Any Price On Stock Items 

P C TECHNOLOGIES 



Radio /haek-TanJv 


Our 1 0th year of DISCOUNTS 
COMPUTERS & 
CELLULAR PHONES 
Fgi. Prepaid. Save Tax 
Toll Free 800-231-3680 


wtt Meet or beat . . . 
(;t'ARA.Nmi> U)W63fr PRKIS 


nif MARVMflC INDUSTRIES INC 
22511 Katy Fwy. 

Katy (Houston) TX 77450 
t -7 >3-392-0747 Telex: 774132 


ORCLE 557 ON READER SERViCE CARO 


Buy Wholesale from #1USA COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS 
TOP NAMES - BEST PRICES - SUPPORT & SERVICE “Call NoW” 

MEMBERSHIP $25 OFF THIS MONTH 1-800 777-1USA 

'' PCMAGAZINEaMARCH2 9, i988 

. 347 


CLASSIFIED 










I y J ’I THE SHOWCASE EOR PKOIK CTS AM) SERVICES /.V THE MS DOS MARKET . . . 

Li 



COMPUTER SYSTEMS 


HURRY! HURRY! 

6386’s System 36’s, 38’s, PS/2’s 

AT&T, IBM, Digital, PC's and Mini's, 
Mainframe’s and Software 

NEW! 20-50% OFF EVERYDAY GUARANTEED w/one 
year warranty — free installation in some areas. 

LEASING AVAILABLE! Ask forour WorldCard’" Computer 
Charge Card and other special financing options. 

For more information, call 
COM/SOFT INT'L 
a division of Worldwide Services 
1-801-562-1404 

CIRCLE S58 ON RCAOeR SERVICE CARO 



BEST SYSTEM BUY 


STI 88 $499 

4.77/IOMHz/O woit/640K RAM 
360K FOO/FOD ConIrolier/KB 
dock/coUndor/l sErid. 1 poroHel & 

1 gome port/150W power supply 

STI 286 $980 

6/10 MHz/640K RAW200W 
Enhonced KB/1.2 MBFDO 
WD Dual FD/HO ControMer 
dock/cdendar/BlOS 

STI 386 $2,595 

WHh 40 M 6 HDD 

Other peripherals 
oho ovadoble — CALL 

Summit Technology 
P.O. Bex 201702 . Austin, TX 78720-1702 
( 512 ) 335-0522 
t. 800 - 445-8640 


CIRCLE SM ON READER SERVICC CARO 



PC Magazine Classified 
Marketplace 

the uttuBate taitet market! 

Thr br^nd spirifirrs who rrxd HI- 
Macazinr don't have (hr time to »hop 
around, thrir only concern b Kcttinit whai 
they need as dukkiy o* pouihlc. 

Tbeyl MRECT their attention 
to K Naitazine Classified 
Marketpixe 

Eor ihrm K: MaKazinc Lla.v»ifird Markn 
place's OirecI Kesponso-ZDisplay Ad birmal 
rcpfwirnLs a (a-st, ca^ and obI effective 
methcxl »r pnxiuci an|ui’‘liK>'< Thi'V 
It will have the pmducti ihey need and the 
infnrmation Ihey want re|(ardinit price, 
viilume diiimunts, specifications and 
deltveiy. 

If you think that ynur business ran bene 
fil from the SOO.UOO brand speejflefs who 
read PC Masazine . . YOI^'HR RIGHT’ 

So take DIRECT action and 
cal) (212) 503-5115 


DISKETTES 


DISK DRIVES 


DISK UPGRADE BIDS FDR ATs 

DUB-14 oveffides AT Drive Table (o allow any 
compalible drive io be aRacbed and fully used 
with standard AT controllers. Short card uses 
one ball slot Includes complete Set-Up routine 
and low-level formal tacilily Works UNIX. 
XENIX, PICK, other OS and networks. NOVELL 
IS tully supported $95 + $3 sbpo CA Tax 


GOLDEN BOW SYSTEMS 
2870 Fifth Avenue Suite 201 
San Diego. CA 92103 
800-284-3269 

8 INCH OISKHTE SYSTEM 

Read, write, and tormal diskettes from IBM 
mainframes, minicomputers, data entry equip- 
ment. etc Complete easy to use software han- 
dles EBCDIC conversion Can read and write 
CP/M 8-inch diskettes (many formats). You 
aiso can use 8-inch drives (or PCDOS tiles. 
1200 KB per diskette' $1095 complete 
MICROTECH EXPORTS 
223 Forest Avenue 
Palo Alto, CA 94301 
415-324-9114 

PS/2 DRIVES FOR PC'S AT S 

CompaliKil-PC $329 

CompatiKil-AT $309 

Built-in floppy controllers no problem Sup- 
ports multiple drives and lormats Lets your 
computer use IBM PS/2 1.4M diskettes plus 
more. Call for lurther intormalion. 
VlSAA«C/C0D/CHECK, 

MICRO SOLUTIONS COMPUTER PRODUCTS 
132 W Lincoln Hwy 
DeKatb. IL 60115 
815-756-3411 


TAKE 
THE BYTE 
OUT OF 


PRICES. 

.29^ 


Medu Sounx soothe the stu^ when 
purchetra wur duketle. All of our 
iksLs are certifled Each disk has an 
uiuesuicied lifnlme wwrwuv There are 
no hidden cosu. All dbkene come with 
liMs, skews and wme proieci tabs 

GeanfcSli'- 

Doubk aded. douhk dmal> 

Bows of lOD 24 n 

Generic Aj;" 

HiShdmiKySbTn. 

Born of V> Sl ide 

s«yJK“ 

Sii^ aded, 

BousofSO tIOda 

Douhk aded. 

Bose of do ll..td e 

DyendJi" 

Douhk aded. douhk drniXv 
BcoeordO ddn 


media. 


Order hr phone l-MXk-Sdh-iddJ 
or 404-952-2990. VW vnpi 
MaanCard. VSA. Amerlian Expis 
a Ducover Car^ COOavaiahk. 

24 hour dapping .Sen day ar 
avnlaMe S 4 00 per box sh^puift 
andhandlinf! 

CIRCtE SM ON READER SERVICC CARO 


IT’S NOT 
29« PLUS 
THIS AND 
THAT, IT’S 

29 



With sleeves, labs, labels 


5V4- 

SVA’DSDOUm 100 

EACH 


39(Un 50 

29c 


Color SVa' DSOD Mr 50 

49e 


SVa' IBM-AT KD Min 50 

79c 


BoxoftO Mm lOboxes 
SVa'OSDO 

$429 


BoxoftO Mr SBoxes 
Color5VA*OSDD 

Free Piasw Case 

$599 

3V2- 

3’/i'SS()0 

Mn. 25 Subteci to availabifiiy 
3’/i'DSD0 

99c 


Mn 25 Subied to avaitabifity 

$1.09 

Data 

205 40MBMniCaind9e 
3mOElConipatibteMn 5 

$1590 


600 l20M8DataCartnOge 
Mn.5 

S1920 


vnrnedak shopm^GuwMeM $abstactRX> 
Can kv gieaier iKcourts on larger order; 
smUMinNWarrMdy 
SNserg S3 50 perm order S1 50 earh aax V 
MCViSAxcapied 

1-800^37-1600 

Operator # 67 


Dept No 1523 PO B(s 61000 
San Francisco. CA 94T61 





EXPANSION UNITS 





CALL DRAM 


— LoivMl Pile* In Marktt 
» Vokima Discounts 

— 1004k Qusrantssd 

Dynamic RAMS 
256K 150 ns S3.7S 

256K 120 ns $3.85 

54K 150 ns $1.60 

Policy; Price S'Jbjeci lo ctiange 
Min. order $10. MC/VISA add 4% 
CA residenis add 6.5dh sales tax 
UPS: Ground $4. air S6 (1 lb) 

(415) 398-2987 
Opsn M-F 8-6 

P O Bo. 590127 SF CA 94IS94>I27) 


[ic 

: Ik 


K PROMPT DEUVERYinl 

a SAIIiiECMYSMIPf>INC (USUALLY) I 


DYNAMIC RAM 
1MWI loaeiui 100 ns $32.00 B 
IMbH 2teM 100 ns 20-50 p 
S12SO W296K.I 100 ns I 
4404 frUM 150r» 

41250 2 S 6 K 11 80 ns l 

41250 29aK.i lOOns 

41250 ?Mrui 120 ns 

41250 zsertei I50ns 

41204 * e4K.4 120n8 I 

27C1000 i 28 K>iS ISO ns $37.90 1 
27CS12 «4ius 200 ns 15.50 1 
27250 32Kie 250 ns 5.50 1 
27im terue 250 ns 0.25 1 
STATIC RAM | 

432S6L-12 32K>e 120ns $11.S0| 
,S004LP-i2 eibia 120 ns 3.05 J 


CNICtE SOI ON READER OERVtCE CARO 


Factm Nuw, Prkna Paris jPon 

i«cnQi<noces$ons urrLMTED MC 

iJ2^<r^^'l918)2674961 


PC MAGAZINE 


MARCH 2 9. 1988 







EXPANSION UNITS 




Your system works! Finally! 

□on*fe scrap it . . . II 
Keep it growing ^ N. 
with PC-XTRA^==^ 

e SLOT EXPANSION CHASSIS 

PC-XTRA makes room for the add-ons *" u.SA 

you need for continued growth. 

No hardware modification! No software changes! $449. 

PC HORIZONS. INC. 

1 71 0-M Newport Circle, Santa Ana, CA 92705 

(714) 953-5396 cmcLE sm on REAoen seiwice caao dealer inquiries invited 


BRAND NEW FROM TALL TREE SYSTEMS 


NOW A FAST 12 MHz! 

JRAMATTWO JRAM AT FOUR 

LIM-EM$ Memory Board 0K-2M6 UM-EIAS Memory Board up to SMBon one 

120 ns 1259 board (IMBut memory) single slot $299 


EVEREX 

RAM 3000 DELUXE EMS-AT 10MHz 

0K-3M6 S139 

MAXMAAQiC AT/XT 10MHz eK-2MB S129 


BOCA RESEARCH 

BOCARAM AT 16MHz OK 2MB S1S9 
BOCA DAUGHTER BOARD CK-2MB Se» 


LARGEST TALL TREE DEALER IN THE COUNTRY 


CAU FOR LOW PRICES ON MSTALLEO MEMORY 


QBQ State o/tfwArrCompufer Products 

roonfer SS THE RAM EXPLOSION 

T-M0>634-«726 2800 Jumper SVMiSuNe #4. Favlax. VA 22031 

CIRCLE SS6 ON READEP SeaVICE CAPO 


For info; 
f703) S4f-032? 


MONITORS 


NEW LIMELIGHT 7 

BEST TRAINING AND PRESENTATION 
TOOL AVAILABLE TODAY 

• ALLOWS SPREADSHEET MEEnNCSTO BECOME INTERACTIVE "WHAT-IF" SES- 
SIONS INSTEAD OF 'SEE YOU NEXT WEEK AFTER MAKING NEW OVERHEADS" 

• ATTACHES VIA SIMPLE CABLE TO ALL IBM PC’S. ALL APPLES. DEC CRTS. HUN- 
DREDS MORE. 

• AirrOMATICALLY ADJUSTS TO THE SAME RESOU/TION OF YOUR MONITOR OR CRT 

• PORTABLE *PR0JECTS IMAGE 

• VIP p^oM 3.5 FEET TO 

I2FEETDIAGO- 

NALSOMANY 

♦LIMELIGHT 7 peopu-cansee 

THE ONE YOU CAN GO WITH TODAY . , . 

. . . AND GROW WITH TOMORROW 

VIVID SYSTEMS INC. 


(800) 331-2834 CA 


(415)656-9965 


CIRCLE $66 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


THE SHOWCASE FOR PRODUCTS 
AND SERVICES IN THE MS DOS 
MARKET . . . 


PERIPHERALS 


^^9 TRACK 
TAPE SYSTEM 

- FORIBMPC'XT'AT 



• Mainframe to PC Data Transfer 

• High Speed Backup 

• All Software. Complete System 

• Service and Support, easy 
Installation 

call (811) 343-6S0S or write to- 
Ceatech Cawwlir Cera- 

PO Box 153 Tarzana.Caiil 91356 


COMTECH 


CmCLC 987 ON READER SERVfCC CARO 


9-Track Tajjc 

Subsystem 



MINISTREAMER" 

Now you can excharm data files 
betwwn your IBM PC/XT /AT 
and any mainframe or mini- 
computer using IBM compatible 
1600 BPI 9-Track tape. Unit 
can also be used for disk backup. 
Transfer rate is im to 4 megabytes 
^ minute on PQ and compat- 
ibles. Subsystems include 7* or 
10 Vi' streaming tape drive, tape 
coupler card and C)05 or XEhAX 
compatible software. 

Prices start at S2.99S. 

nURLSTRRl 

9621 Irondale Avenue 
Chatsworth, CA 91311 
Telephone: (818) 882-5822 

CIRCLE 989 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


Upgrade your AT to full 32 bit 

20 MHZ - 80386 

1 MB * No Wait State RAM tor 


$ 


1995.°° 


Plus your old AT 
MoibertMard 


Here'S how; We ll send you our $2695.*60386 Motherboard for only $1995." 
(Visa and MC accepted) and invoice you for $700 (Net 30). You1l have 30 days 
to swap out your AT motherboard and make sure all your software and I/O cards 
work. (They should. We use the Phoenix Bios). TTien send your old working 
motherboard to us and well aedit the $700 invoice. (For clone rnotherboard's. 
we offer slightly less exchange credit ranging from $300 to $500.) 

* An additional IMS no wait state RAM (2 MB Total) is only $300." 

You’ll have a 'State of the Art' system for less than $2000." 

To order call: 1-600-922-5528 

CompuSystems, Inc. • 7130 Firelane Road • Columbia. SC 29223 

CIRCLE 989 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


MAINFRAME TAPE SYSTEMS 


for PC/XT/AT/PS2 and MAC! 

Our Corniaetlon" producta can raad and wrtta your S-track 1/2" 

800/1600/6250 BPI magnaOc tapM from mini and mainframa compular 
a y a tam t using your PC. WO hava davalopad dozana of tranafar 
progra ma and manufactura many modalt of tapa controllar cards 
andcablaa. Wd sail hundrada of ayatamt aaeh month and offsr our 
eualomara tha lowaat pdoaa* baat aarvloa and tachnieal support 
CaH ua to da y lor dia baat prlca on tapa drfvaa from ANRITSU, CIPHER, 
KENNEDY, «id QUALSTAR. Daalar and voluma diaeounta avaHaMal 


1120 KAIBAB • FLAGSTAFF. AZ 86001 

(602) 779-3341 • TLX 705609 


; FLAGSTAFF 


PC MAGAZINE 


MARCH 2 9. 1988 


CLASSIFIED 







THE SHOWCASE FOR PRODVCTS AM) SERVICES /,V THE MS DOS MARKET . 

U-3 



PLOTTERS 


POWER SUPPLIES SECURITY 



The Zericon 
Model 3600-D Plotte? 
Astounding price and 
performance for 
P^_onIy$229S-''^- 


Zcricoo dare* to cotnpore value 
'Price) a $1,000 lew than «ur 


'CoifdblUtyi ofieram u-nh all 
popular CAD lulmare 
DM/PL'" 

'Speed) at 7 inchet per wcond. the 
WOO'D offm (he prae- 
perfermance rano in in claw. 


'Vacuum paper hold down awum 
perim rcpiwranun. 


Dealer inquirvi invned. 


PC MAGAZINE 
CLASSIFIED MARKETPLACE 

the ultimate target market! 

The brand specifiers who read PC Magazine don't have the time 
to shop around, their only concern is getting what they need as 
quickly as possible. 

They’ll DIRECT their attention to 
PC Magazine Classified Marketplace 

For them PC Magazine Classified Marketplace's Direct-Response/ 
Display Ad format represents a fast, easy and cost effective meth- 
od of product acquisition. They know it will have the products they 
need and the information they want regarding price, volume dis- 
counts, specifications and delivery. 

If you think that your business can benefit from the 500,000 
brand specifiers who read PC Magazine . . . YOU'RE RIGHT! 

So take DIRECT action and 
caU (212) 503-5115 


MORE POWER! 
LESS HEAT! 
LESS NOISE! 



HOOEL 

POWER COOUN6 NOISE PMCE 

STANOAfID XT 

1»W 

1.U 

sro 


STANDARD AT 

now 

1.0X 

STD 

5115 

SOISO PC/XT 

1S0W 

1.4X 

-tpk 

t149 

S0200 AT 

now 

MX 

-m 

$155 

TC150 pc/n 

ISSW 

tax 

-50% 

$115 

TC20DS PC/XT 

200W 

tax 

-50% 

$in 

TC200 PC/CT 

200W 

t7X 

STD 

$109 

TCJM AT 

2S0W 

1AX 

STD* 

$179 


1 AHihooeislMiufe FCC.UL l20V/240V;tdrn« plugs 

2 SO & TC models iacIuM ir«se addiionai feetures 
Heavy duty components. reliaMe smusonlil oowe' stage 
iighi tegulaiion. low oMle. patented High etiioency 
cooling system. ogoiouS teshng. 1 yr warranty 

3 TC models keep eipansion cards S dnves 25*-45* 
cooler for greater reliability artd lortgevity 

Also nxHM frffrilion sysfema tuiibuf coohng Itn. 
full and Conner Aard dmts. 

PC COOLING SYSTEMS 

31S10 MounWn Way. BonasK, CA 92003 


SAFEWARE INSURES COMPUTERS 

Call toll tree (or information and irivnediale 
coverage. 

• BUSINESS COMPUTERS 

• HOME COMPUTERS 

• COMPUTERS OVERSEAS 

• COMPUTERS YOU LEASE 

• COMPUTERS YOU LEASE TO OTHERS 
SAFEWARE. TOe Insurance Agency Inc. 

2929 N. High Street. P.O. Box 02211 
Columbus. OH 43202-0211 

(614) 262-0559 (OH). (800) 848-3469 (NAT) 


TO PLACE YOUR 
AD IN 
PC Magazine 
Classified 
Marketplace 
Call (212) 503-5115 


SPEED DEVICES 


IBM-AT SPEEDUP 

The High Performance Speedlnlector"' 

\r . Will run any IBM AT faster Average speed for a 6 MHz AT: 9.0 I 
\v rli\ MHz! Replaces the CPU's Crystal with a reliable frequency ' 
/\ synthesizer lor full compaiability. Easy plug-in installation. 
-=-= Features: 

2 0 6/267 For The CPU — 100% continuously variable frequency 
from 6-14 MHz, selectable while running A Mode Switch for switching between 
Standard and Variably set speed. A Futl hardware Reset Switch. For the 80287 
— Independent 80267 speedup A selectable from. Standard 2/3 CPU speed. 8, 

10. 12, 14. and 16 MHz actual 80287 speed A The fastest 60267 speeds 
available. 

XCELX Models 

The Deektop Remote Version — Venable CPU control. Mode Switch 
and Reset Switch are all conveniently located on an easy-to-use 

desk-top controller (#XA03-R) $1 59.95 I 

The Rear Mounted Version — Variable CPU control. Mode Switch and I 

Reset Switch are located on the rear panel of the AT (ii>XA0i-N) $99.95 I 

The Speed Utfrirrcs*' — Software for the XCELX that will: Display exact XCELX 
speeds, for fine tuning of the CPU speed A Speedup the Hard Disk A Correct 
Floppy Disk "Drive Not Ready" error A Speedup Keyboard . . (#SU01-A) $39.95 I 
FAST 60287 - 8, 10, 12. 14 and 16 MHz Test rated I 

& guaranteed (»MP1) $ Call I 

F4^T 60286 — Replacement CPU for speed above 10 MHz . . (#CU1-A) 8259.95 I 

FAST RAM ~ 126X8 2S6K. 100NS& 120NS (#RP1)SCall I 

MIL-SPEC Crystals — The Famous Ariel Crystals (or old ROM ATs. 

Choose from (Crystal/CPU Speed) 16/8. 1 7/9.5. 

18/9.5. 20/10 MHz (#CAM6/17/18/19/20) 819.95 | 

INCREASE OVERALL SPEED - UP TO 300% 

Post Office Box 866 A Flemington, New Jersey A 08622 


CIRCLE 572 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. 1988 
350 





FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO PLACE YOL R AO CALL 212 502-5115 




SOFTWARE/ ACCOUNTING 


BACK-UP SYSTEMS 


EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE 


O O 

r'DA Review 

I /A You Pass or We Pay! 

Over 2,100 computer multiple^hoke 
and essay/problems with text solutions 
from recent CPA exams. Cumulative re- 
cords indicate future study and exam 
readiness. Cal) for brochure and DEMO 
information. CMA Review and CIA Re- 
view also available. 


O- 


-O 


CPE 


Continuing 

Professional Education 


Earn hour for hour with the MicroMash 
CPE Series on your micro. Keep current 
on accounting and lax topics. ^If-study 
and self-paced. Each course earns rec- 
ommended 6 hours. Call for informa- 
tion on titles. Cost: $99.95 per course 
per user. 



MicmMash* 


(800) 241-9700 

In Colorado: (303) 799-0099 
14 Invemew Drive Eart. F-IIM Enulrwoocl. Colorado Ml 1 2 


Operates on MS-DOS compatible machines. 
American Express. MasterOid. VISA accepted 


CIRCLE 573 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


/ ACCOUNTANFS ^ 
CLIENT WRITE-UP 
$250 

e TESTED AND PfKIVEN IN tOO's OF FIRMS 

• FAST. EASY TO USE SYSTEM 

• FULLY INTERACTIVE MENU DRIVEN 
PROGRAM WITH HELP SCREENS 

a FLEXIBLE CHART OF ACCOUNTS 

• UNUMITEO DEPARTMENTS 

a COMPLETE FINANCIAL REPORTS 
(Mail Gtnani LMgar 
mum* Stattment and Balance Siwei 
Siatamenl of Change 
Siib-schadufes 

Job Coat and Other SpecM Reporis 

• OPTIONAL LOruS/dBASE INTERFACE 

• MINI WORD PROCESSOR 

a ARtR-THE-FAa PAYflOU 
Earnings Records 
Fedam 94ri • Stata U/C Repon 
W-2'tAND1099's 

a INTERFACES WITH OTHER PROGRAMS 
Genaral Ladger/PayroH Wnting 
bwantetyfRecervabies/Payabin 
a TELEPHONE SUPPORT 
a PRICE S2S0.00- INCLUDING 
PRINTED MANUAL 

IBM PCfXT/AT AND COMPATABIES WITH 2S6X 

HOWELL ASSOCIATES 
4545 BISSONNET SUITE 260 
BELLAIRE. TX 77401 

V (713)661-6652 j 

(■BASE ACCOUNTING TOOLS 

/GENERAL LEDGER /ACCTS PAYABLE 
/dINVOICER & A/R /SALES ANALYSIS 
/SERVICE BILLING /ORDER ENTRY 
/JOB COSTING /JOB ESTIMATING 
/PURCH ORO/INVENTORY /PAYROLL 
$99ea->-s&hw/(l8ASE2.3or3-»- SouxeCode 
(JATAMAR SYSTEMS 
4876-P Santa Monica Ave 
San Diego. CA 92107 

IfilQl WT-lTAd 
Visa-M/C-AMEX-Ctieck-COD 

PC-FUNO 

The leading fund accounting system tor local 
govts and non-protit organizations. Modules 
include General Ledger. Accounts Payable, En- 
cumbrance. Obligation Tracking. Accounts Re- 
ceivable. Payroll, Budgeting, Fixed Assets and 
Donor Receipts. The system supports up to 99 
funds, 9999 depis PC-FUNO runs on Ihe IBM- 
PC and most MS-DOS and XENIX computers 
AMERICAN FUNDWARE, INC. 

PO. Box 773028 
Steamboat Springs. CO 80477 
(800) 551-4458 (303) 879-5770 


MIP FUND ACCOUNTING 

The MIP Fund Accounting Sys^ meets the 
tinancial and managerial repoiling requirements 
of nof-lor-pro'it and governmental organizalions 
The SySsm features multiple fund and fiscal 
years, user-defined reports and six levels ot 
account coding. Modules ottered: G/L A/P. A/R. 
Payroll. Encunbrance, Expenditure Budget Reve- 
nue Budget and LoiJS/IBase Inlertace. MIP FAS 
is available for IBM XT and compalibles. 

MICRO INFORMATION PRODUCTS 
505 East Hurtland Dr.. Suite 340 
Austin, Texas 7B752 
(512) 454-5034 l-SOO-MIP-FUND 


ARTinCIAL 

INTELLIGENCE 


RS-232 CONSULTANT 

Arlilicial intelligence tor making RS-232 ca- 
bles. Shows a cable diagram based on user 
responses. Al technology means you don't have 
to know all Ihe answers. Many features includ- 
ing RS-232 specs and specific devices IBM-pc 
S12k min 640k rec dos 2.0 or later. Send S69.9S 
-t- $5 s/h PA res add 6% tax. 

Atohmon Incorporated 
433 Wedgewood Or. Dept A62 
Lower Burrell PA 15068 
(412) 337-8188 

RELATO™ 

Find shortest path lo who you want to know by 
utilizing Ihe power of your existing personal 
network of friends, contacts. & associations. 
You are an average of six handshakes away from 
anyone else in the US. Discover how small Ihe 
world really is. RELATO”. a new concept in ai 
software lor $49,95/cod/visa/mc 
BIOLOGIC INC. 

50 Music Square West. Suite 506 
Nashville. TN 37203 
1-800-852-4794, 615-321-3241 


THE SHOWCASE FOR 
PRODUCTS AND 
SERVICES IN THE MS 
DOS MARKET . . . 


BACK-UP EVERY XT IN 
YOUR COMPANY FOR 

(tqqc 00 

m 5210 

subsysiem 

This 25 MB Portable Tape Back-Up System uses DC 600 
cartridges (not included) and attaches to the XT's diskette 
expansion port (wasting no slots*). 

To order call: 1-800-922-5528 
{Visa and Mastercard Welcomed) 

* XT clones may require our $65.00 Adapter Card if they do not have the disketie 
expansion port. 

We also offer Cipher 5400. 60 MB, 90 ips subsystem at $695.00 

CompuSystems, Inc. • 7130 Firelane Road • Columbia, SC 29223 

aftCL£ S74 ON REAOCR SERVICE CARD 



BUSINESS 


• TRACK TIME. CAPTURE CASH. 

I NO SWEAT. 

j ►timeslips®IIN 

I Perfect tor attorney^ accountants, consultants, and ALL service profes- 
^ eionals. By automatically tracking lime and expenses, TIMESLIPS III gives 

I you faster and more accurate billing. The ability to recover cash that could 
have fallen through the cracks. And a better handle on your own produebvity. 

I • Memory resident, uses 60K RAM • Generates custom financial 

I • Tracks time with a "stop-watch" reports 
s • Batch enters time/expense data • Exports data to spreadsheets 

I * Thousands of custom bill and databases 

formats • Auto backup, built-in macros 

I < Optional "Accounting Link' ' software bridge makes 

' TIMESLIPS ill compatible with Dec-Easy'*, Peachtree ' . 

I Great Plains and many other accounting packages. 

* (Rated 9.3 by InloWorid) 

I "TIMESLIPS is tffe best time and billing system at any price." 

♦ — Chicago IHbune 

I 1-800-338-5314 TD ORDER 

« Call 617-76&8100 for informatkxi/njsh service. 

I $19a99 plus $7.00 s/h 

4 Not copy protected. 3Cklay money back guarantee. 

I 239 Western Avenue 

« = = NORTH €DG€ Essex, MA 01929 

— = SOFTIURRE CORR circle sts ow reader service card I 


COMMERCIAL-GRADE SOFTWARE 

• MEDICAL DFFICE MANAGEMENT 

• ELECTRONIC MEDICAL CLAIMS 
a INSURANCE AGENCY MGMT, 

e DENTAL OFFICE MANAGEMENT 

• CHIROPRACTIC OFFICE MGMT. 

• PROFESSIONAL TIME ACC'T. 
a PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 

a DBMS & APP'T. SCHEDULER 

'■‘Network Vfefsions Also Available"* 

UNIVAIR INCORPORATED 

9024 St Charles Rock Road 

St. Louis. Missouri 63114 

Phone: 314-426-1099 Fax:314-426-1034 


Are meetings wasting 
yeur valuable time? 

Managers— you can hold fewer better meet- 
ings. Reach logical conclusiCHis taster and 
implement them vrith greater confidence. Dele- 
gate more effectively. Check what Esther Dyson 
had to say about OECiSiON PAD"* in FORBES 
8/10/87. then order a copy for your PC compat- 
ible at $195. 30-day NO RISK guarantee. 

Apian Software. Inc. 

1-800-237-4565, Ext 113 
P O. Box 1224 
Menlo Park. CA 94026 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. 1988 

351 


CLASSIFIED 







BUSINESS 


[Never buy another formll 


EZ-FORMS^“ 


•OmM, Rmm, RI-irVou( 

FI*. PiM. i« UridS ctf FORMS (4 ind^. 
•Solid linWbox draw, «K^mpod, cU^Mit, 
pral«c( Mdi. aulodd^WrrM/#. Oivlln* 
help & powrar mail* II ••■y. 

•Rtq. 2SeK.OOS2+, mod prirdan irid. 
Hn^+/2wrY. Soft LPfont(6M.) dM S39 
•SOtEtfaFormtonySlOwitord. lag-Sig 


ONLY $ 1 9 


«h; SfrO&48; $1 (yad^/ GdrV dher, GO WUS; 
TX Iw 8)L Ri^ $40 pn^ etc. STC wib noHe*. 
eeZX. 403 N<SSAlE.HcxJlonTX 775a 

VISA/f^/AX orders only pleas^ 

toll free: 800-999^999 ext.M22 
Ord/?7: 713488-0210/338-2238 
cmog sn ON r^p£« sewvicg cawo 


TIMECARDS ARE EASY NOW 

Easy menu entry tor standard clock. Reports 

rnciude summary, labels, analysis & duplicate 

cards. Export to DBASE or spreadsheet No 

limit on employees Includes backup & easy 

employee mamienance. Fast Too. Free demo to 

M.i.S./D P F^sonnet. Limited Time $49.00. 

We Save Your Time 

TIME TRACK 

417 Fairfield Pike 

Yellcw Springs. Ohio 45387 

513-767-2696 

CAN'T AFFORD TO BE WRONG 

about someone, use Handwriting Analyst lor 
valuable inslghis. Answer easy, multiple-choice 
questions using ihe illustrated manual, then 
choose a quick or detailed report Amazingly 
accurate Greal lor business or personal rela- 
tlonships--or tor parties. IBM. APPLE/. Mac. 
$49.95 + $3 s^. 

CIASA 

2017 Cedar St. 

Berkeley. CA 94709 
(415) 644-2771 


COMMUNICATIONS 


Communications Library S99 

This library contains 50 + low/mid/high level 
comm, commands Uselhistoaddyi-tealured 
comm, to your program. Features include 
XMODEM, encryption, modem + RS232 con- 
trol + more. Available tor 30 lang/complrs No 
royalties. VISA/MC/AMEX 
GLENCO ENGINEERING. INC 
3920 Ridge Ave 
Arlington Hts.. IL 60004 
(312) 392-2492 

MULTI-USER BBS 

(FOR IBM PC AT) 

TEAMale - a mainframe quality BBS A mini 
CompuServe. Full screen cursor-controlled in- 
lerface. topic outline structure, public and pri- 
vate topics, audit trails, xmodem, integrated 
mail, content retrieval and more MS-DOS. 
XENIX and UNIX versions 
MMB Development Corporation 
1021 No. Sepulveda Blvd., Suite K 
Manhattan Beach, (^ 90266 
(IN CA) 213-545-1455 800-832-6022 


COMPUTER-TELEX-LINK 

Your PC can send and receive telexes quickly 
and easily with Computer-Tetex-Link. R^lace 
that aging telex machine! Add telex service to 
your business tor cost etfeclive worldwide com- 
munications! Computer-Telex-Link translorms 
your PC into a state-o(-lhe-art communications 
tool tor telex 



Computer 

Telex 

Link 


(^hon Scientitic Group 
24224 Michigan Avenue 
Dearborn. Michigan 46124 
Phone: 313-565-4000 


CONSTRUCTION 


DATA BASE 


DON'T BUY CUPPER " UNTIL . . . 

you see our tree dBASE Compiler Evaluation 
Kil. Contains a demo disk with 8 PRG's and the 
results of compiling with Clipper Quicksilver, 
and FoxBASE PLUS See for yourself how all 
Ihree compilers work Also 15 benchmark tests, 
detailed brochures, and complete reprints of 
magazine reviews about all Ihree. FREE. NO 
OBLIGATION Calf 24 hrs. 

[free] 

^dBASE llt+ COMPILER DEMO J 

daiaBASE Specialties 
PO- Box 2975 
Oakland. CA 94616 
(415)652-2790 

SQL ON dBASE 

dOuery allows users to create, manipul^ and 
query dBase II and dBase III tiles usmg S(3L 
(Structured Query Language) and generate r^ 
ports Its lemplate-assisi mode and multiple 
window environment let SOL novices easily tap 
the power ol SOL. IBM PC/XT/AT and compal- 
ibles Pnce $99.95 $5 srh C-caliable 14) avail 
QUADBASE SYSTEMS 
1567 Keith Dri\« 

Campbell. CA 95008 
408-666-0807 

ROOTS II FOR GENEALOGY 

Organize your family tree and print camera-ready 
family books containing charts, text and indexes 
Store, retriere and display 1.000's of family tacts 
wTih brographical sketches and sounx documen- 
tation Lightmng-tast searches ^ sorts 250 
page manu^ Salistaclion guaranteed Write tor 
tree txochure. $195( + CA tax) 

COMMSOFT 

2257 Old Middlelield Way, Ste A 
Mountain View, CA 94043 
415-967-1900 


BUSINESS TIME 
MANAGEMENT 


— DATEBOOK $89.95 *** 
*APPOINTMENT SCHEDULER* 

Ideal tor Professionals! Features include help 
windows, multiple bookings, flexible time inter- 
vals. Searches for openings within specified 
days and time. Supports 20 different schedules 
Prints daily appts. IBM/XT/AT compatible (w/ 
hard diskT $89 95 *(* $4 s/h: ChkA7isa/MC. 
MO add lax 

*•* EXECUTIVE COMPUTER SYSTEMS *** 

1571 Fenpark Driw 

Fenton, MO 63026 

(314)343-5757 


TO PLACE YOUR AD 
IN PC Magazine 
Classified M^etplace 
Call (212) 503-5115 


COST ESTIMATING/BIDDING 

Powerful, comprehensive system tor building 
fast, accurate and competitive estimates A 
complete, stand-alone program. Menu-dnwn. 
very easy to use. Over 30 types ol reports. IBM 
XT/AT and compatibles Hard disk. 3^K. dB III 
version with source code also avail System 
$195. demo $15 (CA add lax). CK/MO/COD. 
CPR INTERNATIONAL. INC 
932 Richmond Street #101 
El Cerrito. CA 94530 
415-528-0581 

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT 

Attordable. understandable software for build- 
Job cost, billing lime and materials or per- 
cent complete, payables, change order and 
relention tracking In one package Prints 
checks, statements, bids. 30 + reports. Clev 
iT»iual & help windows, backed by our profes- 
sional phone support staff $795 
YARD! SYSTEMS. INC 
930 Laguna Street 
Santa Barbara. CA 93107 
(807)966-3666 


DATA ENTRY 


PC-Based 
DAIA ENTRY 


Discover the full pr^tentiai 
with KeyEntrvin. thevvurid's 
leadir^i general-purpose data 
entr\* system for PCs. 

scs 

$Ou(n«rn Comoutrr Syttrmt Ifx 
?73ZS«v»nmAY«nutSouin '-lOO-SaMaTS 
&fm>n9ham AL3U33 r205)2Si-?MS 

CmCLE 977 ON READCN SERVKC CARO 



DATA ENTRY 


ENTRYPOINT90 


The most widely used data 
capture management system. An 
easy-to-use. flexible, cost effec- 
tive. headS'down alternative. 
Communications support for 
on-line/off-line, LAN. 

■ 150,000 ks/hr* 24-hr. bulletin board 
•800 hot line *0811 for demo disk 
DATALEX 

100 Pine Street Suite 2400 
San Francisco. CA 94111 
800*962*6888 415-362-4466 

CIRCLE 57$ ON READER SERVICE CARO 


DATA ENTRY EMULATOR 

You vnll not find any PC Data Entry System— 
FASTER. EASIER lo use. or LOADED with more 
USABLE features Distribution Worldwide The 
EMULATOR will meet your Data Entry needs- 
OR- return it with no obligation PC or OE style 
keyboard Fully menu driven Price $395. 30 
DAY FREE TRIAL. Also avail tor IBM S34/36. 



COMPUTER KEYES 
21929 Makah Road 
Woodway. WA 98020 
(206) 776-6443 


FOLLOW THE LEADERS 

6 ot Ihe 10 largest corporations in America have 
chosen DPX to lead them into PC-Based Data 
Entry Call now lor evaluation copy ot ROOE^ 
- $40 (refundable) $6 shipping ROOE/PC is a 
comptete^lulion allowing standalorve or net- 
worked PC's to replace all types rrf key-to-disk 
systems 
DPX 

20823 Stevens Creek Blvd. Sle 130-M 
Cupertino, CA 95014 
(408)973-9292 TELEX 701111 


VDE— Viking Data Entry 

The premier data entry system. Full-featured to 
replace key punch & keydisks Full screen 
"FORMS." double-key verity, wide variety ot 
options, cfosstoote. subtotals, batch balancing, 
duplicating, statistics, skipping, etc. Character, 
tietd & record level validations. $120-600 Also 
lor minis. 

VIKING SOFTWARE SERVICES. INC. 

2615 East Skelly Drive. Suite 816 
Tulsa. Oklahoma 74105 
(918) 745-6550 


Software/ 

Desk Top 
Publishing 
begins on the 
following page 


J 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. 1988 
352 







DESKTOP PUBLISHING 



ENGINEERING 


ARCHinCTS AND ENGINEERS 

The AEMAS syslem is designed for Architects. 
Engineers & other firms where monitoring pro- 
ject costs is required Modules include: Job 
Cost, Payroll. A/P, A/R & General Ledger 
AEMAS is fully integrated, includes automatic 
invoicing & tlles-in to most spreadsheet & WP 
programs. Multi-terminals available 
DATA BASICS. INC. 

11000 Cedar Road. Suite 110 
Cleveland. OH 44106 
(216) 721-3400 

ENG/SCI GRAPHICS 

OMNIPLOT(S) (screen graphics) & OMNIPLOT 
(P) (plotter driver) provide integrated engineer- 
ing/scientific 2-0 & 3-D graphics with NO PRO- 
GRAMMING REQUIRED' Menu-driven, flexible, 
protessional Choice of formats: labular/line. con- 
tour. bar. pie. 3-D wire tiame & much more! 
OMNIPLOT(S) $195, OMNIPLOT(P). both $295 
MICROCOMPATIBLES 
301 Prelude Drive 
Silver Spring, MD 20901 
(301) 593-0683 

STRUCTURAL DESIGN 

Fast, highly interactive, integrated programs tor 
structural analysis and design of BEAMS, COL- 
UMNS. TRUSSES and FRAMES of any malerial. 
Easily maslered programs result in dramatic 
lime savings while producing efficient, accurate 
designs Specify PC. XT or AT and send $25 lor 
demonstration diskette to: 

C-Squared B-Squared Software Design. Inc. 
763 27th Avenue Dept A-2 
San Francisco, CA 94121 
415/751-1337 


PowerText 

Formatter 

I nexpensive DeskTop Pub* 
lishing! Add the PowerText 
Formatter. Softy¥are lor Automat' 
to DeskTop Pubiishtng, to your 
word processor and out perform 
the top selling products. For 
only $149.95! Call for 14 page 
brochurel 

A utomatic features and style 
sheets allow publishing one 
page fetters to full length books. 
LaserJet camera ready copy - 
good looking copy with other 
printers, indexing. Table of 
Contents. Outlining, boxing, 
graphics placement, arxi more, 
are automatic. Hard disK EGA, 
mouse, windows not required. 

Beaman Porter, Inc. 

417 Halstead Avenue 
Harrison, NY 10526 
(914)835-3156 
(800) 431-0007 

CIRCUS SM ON READER SERVICE CAM) 


LEARN DESKTOP PUBLISHING 

With VIOEOTUTOR. 90 minute video tape. 48 
page workbook and example diskette Learn 
Ventura Publisher or Aldus pagemaker quickly 
and easily Clear comprehensive in^ruction 
Ventura users! Ventura store now open, call lor 
free Ventura utilities and fonts catalog and tree 
Ventura lips card. 

VIDEOTUTORA/ENTURA STORE 
219 Ilihau Street 
Kailua. HI 96734 
808-254-6419 


EDUCATION 

GRADE WEEK VACATIONI 

Average and print out your grades with the last, 
easy-to-use AEIUS GRADEBOOK program 
New version 2.3 is published as Shareware In 
use by teachers coast to coast since 1985. 
Shareware disk with program and tutorial only 
$10 ppd. Register lor program, printed manual, 
phone support, and update notification for only 
$35 ppd. Free Literature. Check. VISA or MC. 
AEIUS CORP 
P.O. Box 700457 


SIMULATION 

GPSS/PC is a tull-pORer wrsion of GPSS. Ihe 
most popular mainframe simulation language 
Speoticaliy designed lor interactive use on lo- 
de's high-speed microprocessors, it is loaded 
with features such as interactive graphics and 
animation. Using GPSS/PC. you can predict the 
behavior ot complicaled real world systems. 
MINUTEMAN SOFTWARE 
P.O. Box 171/B 
Slow. MA 01775 

800-223-1430/61 7-897-5662 Exl.316 

ARCHITECTS/ENGINEERS 

Job-Cost/Job-Bill is written especially tor Ar- 
chitectural and Engineering firms where protect 
cost management and invoicing is required 
Menu driven features include: Job History. 
Expense Summary. Time/Wage/Salary/Billing 
Totals, Password Entry, and Invoicing. IBM and 
compatibles. 256K/Hard Disk reqd.. $295 + 
$3 sn\ U.S. Visa/MC/Check 
SAI/Structural Analysis. Inc. 

301 W. Camino Gardens Blvd.. Suite 110 

Boca Raton. FL 33432 

Toll free 800/635-6366 Tone 814 


San Jose. CA 95170 




THE SHOWCASE FOR 


TO PLACE YOUR AD IN 


PRODUCTS AND 

PC Magazine Classified Marketplace 


SERVICES IN THE MS 

Call (212) 503-5115 


DOS MARKET . . . 


ENTERTAINMENT/ 

GAMES 



How well can you control train traHic^ 
Find out with TRAIN DISPATCHER, our 
simulation of a railroad traffic control 
center Use sequential thinkinq ar>d 
cause and effect reasoning to efficiant- 
ty route up to twelve trams throuqh a 
prototype rail territory Also available is 
TRACK BUILDER, a separate program 
that allows the user to design custom 
lerriiones for use with the TRAIN DIS- 
PATCHER simulator. Available for IBM 
PC. )(T, AT & jr • • color graphics 
required. TRAIN DISPATCHER - S3S. 
TRACK BUILDER - $20. Add $2 SO S/H 
($4 foreign) PA residents arrd6% sales 
tax. VISA/MC 

SIGNAL 

Computwr ConsuKants 
P.O. Box 18222. Oept. 33 
Pittsburgh. PA 15236 
(412)655-7727 

ORCLE sat ON READER SERVICE CARD 


* * • • ADULT SOFTWARE * * * * 

Wfttch these girls! Let your PC/XT/AT. Compat- 
ibles & you have some real entertainment. 
Games, graphics and more for adults only. 
Volumes 1 and 2 are $11.95 each ppd. Volume 3 
$16.95 ppd. Confidentially assured. Color or 
graphics card needed Must slate and sign age 
as over 21. 5Y*’ formal 
AO-S. 

P.O. Box 106 
Marion. CT 06444 

ADULT SOFTWARE 

Twenty sisling disks crammed full of anima- 
tion. graphics, games. Real collectors items! 
Color graphics required only $7.00 each byte* 
lilleddisk + .75(s/heach.6disksampler$36 
ppd . or $99 95 complele 20 disks set ppd Buy 
with confidence from America's larg^ dis- 
tributor ot erotic software 
Gold Coast Computing Services 
P.O. Box 1257-PCM01 
Secaucus. NJ 07096-1257 
You Must Stale Age over 21 

MULTI-LINE FUN AND GAMES 

Run A POP net 'social center' Up to 23 lines of 
chat. C6. games such as: traders, adventure, 
mazer, skunk, liars, poker, blind chess. Graph- 
ics lor games (w/POP term) Mail and bulletins, 
of course. Sysop tools lor accounls/house- 
keeping. HW/SW tor 7 lines is under $3700 
Users pay 60 cenis/hr 
KINESIS CORP 
3000 Citrus Circle. Suite 212 
Walnut Creek. CA 94598 
415-932-1146(v) Of 415-932-GAM£(m) 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. 1988 

353 


CLASSIFIEO 






THE SHOWCASE FOR PRODUCTS ASD SERVICES IN THE \fS DOS MARKET . . . 


; S ^ ■ t 



Natural Intelligence. 

E verybody is excited these days about Artificial 
Intelligence. But tools come and go. creators 
stay. It takes more than A1 to strive YOUR problems. 
It takes natural intelligence - YOURS! 

If you agree, you are ready to sharpen your 
problem-solving skills, expand your memory. 
Improve your cocvdination, quicken your reaction 
to various stimuU, enhance your perception, and 
maybe even stimulate your creativity - while 
having fun. 

You arc ready for MENTOR'!' 



ancLEsaa 

ON READER SERVICE CARD 


Still In Demand. 

MENTOR '* is new software for a rigorous mental 
workout. MENTOR" contains 58 psychometric 
exercises and tests (including 25 complete I.Q. 
tests • over 950 problems • with separate sections 
(HI verbal and numeric abilities). 

MENTOR" 

For mind expansion and fun — just S49.95. 

To oniB fM ofjr of MENTOR? pkw cui 806-443-7380 
(■Tots. all eolleci 915494-5930) VuiAliaaCiid xoficd 
IBM PC nd conpMibks, 256K. pifdiia bond 
Hanoc Rnoidi, he • Jlit-A Wes CuMcn • Midlad. Teui WDl 


LOTTERY TRACKER AND WHEELER™ 

For All games where you choose from up 

to 7D nurnbersf Stores past WO wirnng diaN^ 
and dates. Stored numbers are analyted 4 ways • 
HOT. DUE numbers and RECENCY di^il^ on 
screen or priittd charto. Select 5 betting rnelhods 
and choose one of 20 iMiR-to popUar WHSUNG 
SYSTEMS Check beto lor al wmng 
Prints charts, statistics, numbers and wheeing 
^ems. Why pay up to tor less? NEWlf 
$3435 -f $1.50 S&H. 

THE DAILY NUMBER BUSTERI ™ 

Thw sato 4 couktrh be done! A cornplete software 
padage for 3 arto 4 dot datiy nurnbers games. At 
of the LOTTERf TRACER AND WHEEL^ieatures 
indudno ALL straighi and box bet combntfems. 
Prints diarts, sUisbes. numbers and 
NEW" IBMA:omp.>bull(M this 
•fltSOS&K. 

ENTERIAMMENTON-LINE. Inc 
PIX8«5530epl.PCM 
WtafinraMA 01581 

VISA & MC cal; 1-60MZ4-7I88 EiL 2S3 

CIRCLE SS3 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


mmv 


A NEW WAY TO PICK 
LOTTO NUMBERS 


Computer Psychic Trainer 
and Formater for Lotto 

• A Psycological Trainer tor Winning 
L otto Games 

• LOTT-O-HELP Simulates Many Games to 
Help Amplify any Psychic Effect on 
Numbers 

• For any slate • 30 Day Money Back Guar 

• PC A Comp. Dos 2.1 or greater, 128K Ram 
Send S39.95 • CA Res. add S2.40 tai to: 

LOn-O-HELP 710 Sliver Spur Rd. Dept. B 
#331 Rollino Hills Estates CA 90^4 


CROSSWORD POWER" 

Up to 80 words in each puzzle. Make single 
puzzles or automatically create and print up to 
15 diftereni puzzles from each list of your words 
mi clues. Reuse words & clues in new puzzles 
without retyping. Great for games or vocabul- 
ary/ review. Check/MO $69. Add $2 for ship- 
ping/WI res. add 5% tax. 

WISCO COMPUTING 
2821 Sampson Street 
Wisconsin Rapids. Wt 54494 
(715)423-8189 


NEMESIS... 



The Go MastCT " 

CIRCLE Sas ON READER SERVICE CARO 


"If you are interested in Go, buy this 
program." Jerry Poumelle, Byte 7/87 
Why do the Japanese show Go on prime 
time TV? Learn why they have been 
addicted to this game for millenia. 
NEMESIS", the world's strongest Go 
program, is the ideal tutor. Packed with 
vital teaching features, NEMESIS'” even 
tells why he makes his moves! 

To order call 617-863-1454 or send $79 
for Nemesis or $1 25 for Nemesis plus 
optional lOOO-f Joseki Tutor + $3 S/H. 

Toyogo inc. 

34 Oak St. Lexington. MA 02173 


FINANCIAL 


Balance Checkbook 
Organize For Tox Time 
Easy For Home 
Powerful For Business 


ONLY $74” 

$3.50 P/H & CA 6'/i% tax 
VtSA/MC/Oieck 

CALL NOW! 

213/661-2031 

9:30 AM— 5 PM/M-F 

• 

CDE SOFTWARE 

948 Tulorosa Drive 
Dept PC 

Lot Angeles, CA 90026 


NOW— Vtrtion 4.1 
Not Copy Protected 

\ Checks 

& 

V ^ Balances 

• Single entry occounfing ^ 
system centered around the checkbook 

• Hondles cosh & chorge transactions 

• View, edit or print any entry ior a yeor 
with simple but powerful commonds 

• Baionce sheet, cosh flow ond profit & 
loss stotements, plus mony more reports. 

• Prints checks; versatile oddress file 

CIRCLE sas ON READER SERVICE CARO 


TO PLACE YOUR AD IN 
PC Magazine Classified Marketplace 
Call (212) 503-5115 


9 9 DON'T 9 O 
BUY ANY STOCK! 


UNTIL YOU’ VE CHECKED WITH 



( hanin^ .sortwarc 


MetaStock" 


Demo Disk— 15 

Pertonn soptvsticaiaU technical analyses on 
slocks, mutual funds, commodities, etc 
Features multiple movable wiodowi unlimited 
moving averagei 2S- pre-set indicetors. 
irendliAM and tredmg bands, overtays and 
spreads, plus much more' Compatible with 
1 Z> maior data servicei For compleie 
literature, call toll-free 

1-800-882-3040 

Computer Asset Management Inc. 
Box 26743 S.LC..UT 84126 (801)974-511$ 



Mi 

ffii 


editors 

Choice 


MONEYCOUNTS' 

Is Only $16! 


Easy-to-use CI’A-designed money 
management. accounling system tor 
home and business. Checking, credit 
card management, smart checkbook 
balancer, budgeting, financial state- 
ments, graphics, financial data base 
with three-way look up, inquiry 
reports, on-line help, pop-up calcula- 
tor. tutorial, lots of capacity (up to 
accounts 24000 entries per year) and 
much mim* Not copy protected. 


New Vers/on 4.0 
Now IncludOM: 

• Financial calculator 

compuiRS Infrost rtfs, loon 
ond bolloon poymonf, prinf 
loon omortiiatlon schodufs 

• Automatic entries 

• Journal entries 

And More! 


Call or send S16 + S3 shipping handling 
Check VISA M( 

1-800-223-6925 

In Iowa 31V •?73 0224 
S- ^ 

Oapr M 

C - 692S Surrey Drive N£ 

S- Cedar RepiOt fowe S2402 

CIRCLE S87 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


J 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. 1988 
354 











GRAPHICS 


el 


AF 


Power Pack Your PrtSC Key! Only $49.95 

Grafplus^* turns any IBM t^r compatible graphics application 
into a powerful communicator by printing cxiKtly what yciu 
have created on your computer screen. 

• Print in color, hlack-on-white, white-iMi'black 

• Scale the imitge tt) any size 

• Print vertically or horizontally 

• Wt>rk with virtually any hit-mapped 
dot matrix, laser, or inkjet printer 

• Link into Pagemaker or Ventura 


CIRCLE SSS ON READER SERVICE CARO 


Jewell Technologies 
4740 44th Aw. S.W. 
Suite 203 
Seattle. WA 98116 
206-9374081 


FORTRAN/PASCAL GRAPHICS 

GRAFMATIC (screen). Microsolt Forlran/Pas- 
cal. R-M, Lahey callable routines. Graphics 
primitives, total 2* *D plot support. 3-D plots and 
solid models. EGA/CGA Hercules mono, sup- 
port. HP/HI plotter? PLOTMATIC Laser, dot 
malTix printer? PRINTMATIC. $135 ea Any 2. 
$240. all 3. $340 Ask about our 15 fonts 
MICROCOMPATIBLES. INC. 

301 Prelude Drive D^t PC 
Silver Spring, MD 20901 
(301) 593-0683 

GRAPHICS FOR SCIENTISTS 

GOS (Graphics Oper^ing System) allows you 
to create graphs at your MSOOS computer & 
graphics prinler/plotter etficiently & dettly! This 
easy to use program features data manipulation 
& presentation routines appropriate to scientific 
environments Sensible & Itexible data entry 
provides lor both keyboard entry & retrieval 
A^ll files. GOS is menu driven w/online help 
screens. Excellent manual free phone support, 
inexpensive updates $199 + s/h 
OLIS. INC. 

Route 2. Double Bridges Road 

Jetlcrson, GA 30549 

(404) 367-9191 (collect calls accepted) 


HEALTH 


OVER-STRESSED? 

Use your PC and in the privacy of your own 
office begin to take control over stress in your 
life. Covers stress basics, causes & impact on 
family life & your job. Leam the best methods 
lor handling stress. Now gel stress in your life 
under control. Only $179 + S/H. IBM PC or 
compal. W/256K. 
westinghouse OlSCatalog 
P. 0. Box 3377 
Pittsburgh. PA 15230-3377 
60Q-338-DIX(3472) 


THE SHOWCASE FOR 
PRODUCTS AND 
SERVICES IN THE MS 
DOS MARKET . . . 


35mm SLIDE FROM YOUR PC 

COMPUTER SUDE EXPRESS converts graphic 
tiles produced on the IBM PC into brilliant 35mm 
color slides with color resolution 400% better 
than your monitor Leave your printouts behind. 
Use high resolution color slides up to 4000 line. 
COMPUTER SLIDE EXPRESS $9/slide 
VISUAL HORIZONS 
180 Metro Park 
Rochester. NY 14623 
(716) 424-5300 


INVENTORY 


INVENTORY MANAGEMENT 

Stock-Master 4 0. commercial grade system 
provides Slock Status. Purchase Order Wnting & 
Tracking. Trend Analysts. Quality Control Report- 
ing Detail Analysis. Bill of Materials. Mufti Loca- 
tions and more Modular, "micro” priced & 
configured to your needs Cobol Source available 
APPLIED MICRO BUSINESS SYSTEMS 
177-f Riverside Ave. 

Newport Beach. CA 92663 
(714) 7594)582 

MANUFACTURING INVENTORY $99 

Inventory control with 8ill-ot-Malerial Processing 
and vendor file tor small to medium size batch 
manuiactures or job shops. Project material re- 
quirements. allocate material, maintain material 
cost per work order and kx all WIP AllowsuploS 
remett terminals lo receive or issue material 
Meets supplier log requirements of MIL-M5208. 
REAL TIME AUTOMATED. INC 
1340 8 No Dynamics St 
Anaheim. CA 92806 
714-993-0111 

HOUSEHOLD INVENTORY 

Menu dri^ inventory system. Two data bases, 
1)household items 2)boot(S. Utilizes windows lor 
tables & help screens. Reports ind. surnrary & 
det^t reports. 0^ backup dBase compatible 
hies. Ex^lenl lor insurance records. Requires 
512k. IBM PC or 100% comp $49 95 
(TxRes add $4 lax) 

SoftLeeWare Systems 
P.O. Box 161044 
Irving. TX 75016 
(214) 855-7247 


INVENTORY 


•••dFELLER INVENTORY'** 

A business inventory program written in modifia- 
ble dBASE source code. The menu-driven pro- 
gram lets you locate Hems by invenloiY name or 
number. H keeps track ol reorder points, vendors, 
average cost & other informalion. 

* dFELLER Irrventory $150Requires dBASE I14II 

* dFELLER Plus $200Avith History & PO’s. 
Requires dBASE Ill-ill PLUS (for slock rooms) 
FELLER ASSOCIATES 

550 CR PPA. ROUTE 3 
Ishpeming, Ml 49849 
(906) 486-6024 — 


LEGAL 


DEED DESCRIPT1DN ANALYZER 

Fast and simple plofling of maps from deed 
descriptions. Map plotted to scale on graphic 
screen or printer Compuies area and delects 
errors. Includes comprehensive tutorial by a pro- 
fessional surveyor handy lor realtors, latr- 
yets & investors Nom calculates curves $49 95 
MC/ VISA/ CK 
Greenbrier Graphics. Inc 
1102 Main St.. P.O Box 724 
Rainelle. WV 25962 
304-438-8157 

L-PLOT... 

A Meles & Bounds program to plot/prini plats 
of any scale- Any description- use Any mea- 
suremeni' Calc areas, error oi closure, plots 
multi tracts IBM/compal with monographics. 
CGA or EGA c^bility $190 Or send $15 lor 
real working demo, refundable with order Visa/ 
MC/chk. Free info. 

LAN/SCAN.inc 
P.O. Box 6863 
Abilene. TX 79608 
(214) 624-6419 


MAILING 

PROGRAMS 


PC/LABEL MASTER 

Editors’ Choice 1987 

A mailing list program that 
does everythiriq except walk 
to your post office box. 
o Maintains unlimited records 
0 Allows up to 30 user codes 
0 Index/last name & zip codes 
o Sorts on any field 
o Imports and exports files 
0 Checks duplicates 
0 Auto dialer; plus much more 
5-day money back guart. 
BEST PR06rAMS 

2700 5. Quincy Street, Arlington, VA 

800/36e-2405;(703) 820-9300 

CIRCLE 989 ON READER SERVICE CARO 




MAILING 

PROGRAMS 


PDSTWARE MAILING SYSTEM 

Automate mail preparation Cut postage costs 
by 5< per piece or more Only PosiVilate prints 
address labels in bundle and bag. bulk mailing 
order Not a useless zip code sort. Prints ad- 
dress labels, bag lags/lray labels Calc post- 
age Works with dBase III PLUS. OATAEASE. 
PowerBase. Smart & others Also ASCII 
* 1sl & 3rd Class— $195 * 2nd ciass-$395 * 
Carrier Route Assignment— $300 
PostalSofI, Inc. 

515 Division Street 

La Crosse. Wl 54601-4544 

60&'784-3500 . 800/831-MAIL (6245) 

"THE MAIL ORDER WIZARD 

is one very powerful program It oilers a catalog 

business all (he computing routines i( needs- 

arxJ then some! , gives new meaning (o the 

hackneyed phrase, user friendly Written in 

Assembler, it operates with lightning 

speed , very serious software, a must see' " 

Catalog A^. $970. Demo. $12 

The Haven Corporation 

802 Madison Dept M 

Evanston. IL 60202 

800-782-8278 

THE MAIL ORDER ACCOUNTANT 

Order fultitIment/Lisi management. Includes 
customer lists, labels in 6 lormats. inventory, 
invoicing, accounts receivable, customer pay- 
ments by cash/credit card. Prints shipping 
labels, credit card slips. UPS shipping man- 
ifests. sales tax report dBase III Plus source 
codeprovided $975.demo$25 + $3 50S/H 
GOLDSMITH & ASSOCIATES 
48 Shattuck Square. Suite 66 
Berkeley. CA 94704 
(415)540-6396 


MEDICAL 


MEDICAL SYSHMS WITH ECS 

All PPM products have electronic claims sub- 
mission (ECS) lo Medicare & commercial car- 
riers. paper claims loo. 

• PC * CUIM $89 95: claims only 

• PC * CLAIM w/ICO's. CPT's & HCPC codes 
$229.95 

• PC * CLAIM PLUS claims only w/patieni 
file Complete a claim in one rmnule $459. 

• THRESHOLD * TM $1.995 00 claims. ArR 
patient billing. 

• THRESHOLD $3,995.00 Claims Adt patient 
billing, complete practice management, stalls- 
tics, artalysis. 

• CLAJM * NET Nationwide claims clearing 
house Full t00% credit on product upgrade 
PC * CUIM & PC * CUIM PLUS both house 
30 day money-back guarantees IBM PC/XT/ AT 
compatibles MS-DOS 256K. 

PHYSICIANS PRACTICE MANAGEMENT 
1810 South Lynhurst Suite 0 
Indianapolis. IN 46241 

(317) 634-8080 

In contifvenlal U S call (800) 428-3515 
Indiana residents call (800) 792-3525 







PC MAGAZINE 


355 


MARCH 2 9. 1988 


CLASSIFIED 






THE SHOWCASE EOR PRODVCTS AM) SERVICES l,\ THE MS MIS MARKET . . . 




> 




MEDICAL MUSIC 


ONE-OF-A-KIND 


Medical/Dentai Systems 

Second Decade Support tor more than 130 
machines Fealunrrg paper and electronic 
claims, patient billing, appointments, diagnos- 
tic data base, word processing, financial histo- 
ries. payroll, accounts payable, and general 
ledger Single and multi-user systems. Starting 
at $199 95. 2.400 Dealers 
CMA Micro Computer 
55868 Yucca Trail #6 
Yucca Valley. CA 92284 
619^-9718 


SONGWRIGHT 111 

MUSICPROCESSOR prints professional sheet 

music wtih lyrics Full-screen graphics editor 

Transposes to any key. plays tunes Features 

multiple staff & voices, harmony, counterpoint 

bass/treble all lime signatures IBM/Epson. 

Star Printers Send $49 95 + $2 s/h or write 

lor free sample oulpul 

SONGWRIGHT 

Route 1. Box 83 

Loveltesville. VA 22080-9608 

703-822-9068 


‘Ditkette Labeler’ 

Makes professional labels tor 5.25*' disks on 
your printer with comb of 23 char titles. 120 
file names. 10 lines ot 80 char, comments, and 
complete sl^. Includes s/w. manual. 240 color 
labels (60 ea. ot 4 colors) with perm adhesive 
For IBM & compat with IBM/Epson compal 
dot matrix printer $49 4- $4 S/H 
WeedPalch Productions. Inc. 

436 Walden lane 
Hackcssin, 0£ 19707 
(800) 451-0474 (302) 239-9266 


IMPROVE PC PRODUCTIVITY 

Improving the productivity ot PC users is a 
tough jOb Experts say an easy & quick way is to 
improve their typing skills A unique, effective. 
& rnoneywisc solution: TYPING INSTRUCTOR 
Have immediate impact. Only $49.95 4- S&H 
IBM PC or compal. w/128K 100's of other 
courses available 
Westinghouse DISCalalog 
P 0 Box 3377 
Pittsburgh. PA 15230-3377 
800-338-OISC(3472) 


MUSIC 


INTRODUCTORY OFFER 

PC MIDI Interface Card. Sequencer Software 
and 4 MIDI cables (1 in. 3 out) ONLY $138 95' 
64 tracks 60.000 events. 600 licks/qtr note 
resolution! Fast, full featured, easy to use soft- 
ware Best MIDI offer ever made! Developer's 
source code $99 Dealer Inquiries welcome 
MIDI MUSIC 

800 East Campbell Suite 199 
Richardson. TX 75801 
(214) 238-5269 

COMPUTER MUSIC CATALOG! 

Largest music software seleclion anywhere' 
Detailed information on ihe leading compuler 
music products including waveform editors, 
transcribers, educational software, sequencers. 
MIDI interfaces & more Gel Ihe facts' Competi- 
tive prices! Visa/MC. Worldwide shipment! 
Send $3 tor 80 page catalog 
DIGITAL ARTS & TECHNOLOGIES 
Dept. PCI, P a Box 11 
Milford. CT 06460 
(203) 674-9080 


MusIcEase 2.0 

Full featured music processor print, play, 
transpose, cut & paste, no range limitation. 
1-2-3/WordStar style commands, multiple 
voices/staves, lyrics, all keys/metcrs. custom 
symbols/placemeni. WYSIWYG, beams & 
more. IBM/Epson printer, graphics monitor 
Intro offer Send $99.95 4- $5 
Grandmaster, tnc 
P-0. Box 2567 
Spokane. WA 99220 
(509) 747-6773 

Tape ‘N Step 

For IBM & compatibles is a sequencing soft- 
ware based on a spreadsheet concept. Some ot 
Ihe features are real-time & step-lime record- 
ing. 85.000 notes. 2048 tracks, crescendo/ 
diminuendo, dynamic Ctrl . delete. & copy 
modes, loops & nested loops & much more 
$150 For more information write or call: 

The Midi Connection 
PO Box 282 Stn D. Montreal 
Quebec. Canada. H3K 3GS 
(514) 933-5127 Dealer inquiries invited 


PC MAGAZINE ARTICLE DISK 

Use your debase, spreadsheet, or word-pro- 
cess program to instantly find PC MAGAZINE 
articles, reviews, util., advice etc Query or 
search for PC topics & come up with issues & 
pages where that topic is covered. For $30 get 
Jan. 87-present & ^rly updates for 1 year We 
can format your tile, lor 1-2-3. dbase. pis. 
paradox, syrr^hony. dif. ascii— specify file for- 
mat/disk type. Send Ck/MO $30 in CT 1V:%, 
CASADINE DEVELOPMENT 
46 Ouintard Terrace 
Stamford. CT 06902 
(203) 325-9156 


PREVENTATIVE 

MAINTENANCE 


Memory Minder 

Memory Minder is the roost coo^Hehensne 
disk diagnostic program available for 
imcroconiputers. Any oper^or can quKkiy and 
easily check the vital operating parameters of 
their floppy drives, including spindle speed, 
head alifminenl. read sensitivity and others. 
Run Memory Minder before vital data backup 
operations. Use it to align the drives without 
the use of an oscilloscope 
IBM PC. XT. AT program and manual S70. 
Precision Alignment Diskettes ioid separately 
S40 each. 5.25 ’ 40 track. 5.25" 80 track. 1 .2 
MB AT. or 3.5" 80 track drives. 

JdLM System*. Ud. 
^WWW ^ 15100-ACcmralSE 
Atbuqwrque. New Neako 87123 
505/292-41S2 
We accept MasterCard and Visa 
cmcLE mi ON REAoen scrvicc card 


MAINTENANCE & INSPECTION 

An easy-to-use computerized method to organize, 
operate, and control an effective prevenlive main- 
tenance system Applicable to any type ot busi- 
ness or industry. Full screen mpui and displays, 
plus function help command. Maintains his- 
torical data, creates work orders, and provides 
numerous reports. For info, write to. 

PENGUIN COMPUTER CONSULTANTS 
P.O. Box 20485 
San Jose. CA 95160 
(408) 997-7703 


PC+MIDI 

ll't a simpto equation. To plug your PC or PC-compatIbie into the 
modern world of music-making, use the complete line ol MIDI soft 
ware and hardware from VOVETRA TECHNOLOGIES. 

□ SEQUENCER PLUS: 65-track total MIDI recorder/editor. 

□ CONVERSION PLUS: file converter tor music notation programs 

□ MTCH MASTER: network organizer and sound libranan. 

□ OP-4001: PC/MIOI Interface card. 

*/Ve never seen a more ptmerful, aasy-lo-use music and recording 
sysfem 6ug-/ree.*(PC COMPANION) 

= MUSIC • 

For more Information or your nearest dealer, contact VOVETRA TECHNOLOGIES, 
Dept. C. 426 Mt Pleasant Avenue. Mamaroneck NY 10543. or call (914) 696-3377 
cmcif seo on reaocr service card 


TO PLACK YOUR AD IN 
PC Magazine Classified Marketplace 
Call (212) 50.V5I l.'i 



PC .MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. 1981( 

.156 


PROGRAMMERS 

TOOLS 


QuickBASIC DOES DATABASE! 


Newr* Enhance QuickBASIC with 
Relational Database Management' 

You gel 3 Applcaiion- Building Libraries that 
y Read and wnte dBASE III -f files 
y Build indexes lor any liles 
y Execute data expression macros 
y Include dozens of high-level routines 
Create your application programs with 
lUSt biKk move and edit' 

Only $139 complete. 

AJS Publishing, Inc. 

P.O. Box 379 

North Hollywood, CA 91603 
( 800 ) 992-3363 
(In Calif 618-985-3383) 

Available at leading software stores 


FREE BUYERS GUIDE 


Call or wnte lor our FREE comprehensive 
buyers guide containing hundr^s of lan- 
guages. utilities and books specifically for 
IBM personal computers and compabbles 
We re Ihe world's leading independent dealer 
ol programmer’s deveiopmeni tools because 
we provide sound advice, low discount 
prices, last delivery. FREE domestic shipping 
and no hidden charges 


Programmer’s Connection 
800-336-1166 USA 

7249 Whipple Ave NW 
No Canton. Ohio 44720 
215 - 494-3781 OH & AK (Colleci) 
• 80 - 225-1165 Canada 
9102405879 Telex 
. 494-3781 Intemational 


•••debugger for turbo*** 

Now debug your Turbo C programs with a lull 
screen source level debugger Includes: Execute 
the next program statement and step into or 
over function calls. Set and run until break- 
points are executed. Watch variables change as 
your program executes* much more $24.95 
$2 sTi chk/Visa/MC. 

A-COM 

13511 NE 129lh PI. 

Kirkland. WA 98034 
(206) 821-2192 


Ni 








At last, QuickBASIC 4 
has a Best Friend. 


We’d liKe to introduce you 
to the best friend Quick 
BASIC 4 ever had. The 
name is ProSCREEN, 
and K makes Quick- 
BASIC 4 faster, 
easier, and much 
more flexible. Only 
with ProSCREEN i 


can you produce professional 
data entry screens complete 
with validation and custom 
logic in minutes, and with 
implementation in as 
Q^^few as two calls. 

V\ * QQ VISA/MC 
'P Accepted 
For a brochure and a demo diskette (SS.OO. refundable 
with order) or just a FREE brochure, write or call 
BEST FRIEND SOFTWARE by Laney Syatams, Inc. 

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INCREDIBLE SOFTWARE 

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Get a Word Procenor, Spreadsheet, 
Databese, Money Menegsr, 5 arcade 
games plus our 1 0,000 program 
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Intamatlonal Soltwan Ubraiy 
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800-992-1993 (Ca only) 


CIRCLE S96 ON READER SERVICE CARO 



CIRCLE S94 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


NETWORK CONTROL LIBRARIES 

NETWORK INTERFACE allows file sharing and 
redirection through DOS functions. $99. NET- 
BIOS ROUTINES allows access to low-level 
network tunctions. Name, sessiorr & datagram 
‘. routines. Vtbil and no-mit options. $199 NET- 
I WORK MASTER provides access to Netware ifl- 
Si temal functions. Complete control of your nei- 
. work from your compiled programs. $299. 

* Slarlighi Software 

2061 Central Street 

Evanslon. IL 60201 

(312)864-9370 

TURBO WINDOW TOOLBOX 

A complete windows programming environment 
tor Turtn Pascal. windows, pulldown 
menus & messages, virtual screens and a mufii- 
window WordSbr-like editor. Anknated tesuing. 
moving, horizontal & vertical scrolling with blind- 
ing speed. Optional mouse. All source code and a 
90-f pp manual prwided. 

Turbot 
369 6 Avenue 
Brooklyn. N.Y. 11215 

(716) 96&-9729/N0 royalties $50 checks only 


THE SHOWCASE FOR 
PRODUCTS AND 
SERVICES IN THE MS 
DOS MARKET . . . 


BASIC PROGRAMMERS 

If you warn blinding speed, and to maximize the 
functionality of your programs, we hate tools lor 
you. Please see our Marketplace ad tor Mach 2 
and Stay-Res in Ihe next or previous issue. Or call 
loll-fiee tor detailed intornrabon at no charge. 
Find out why Mach 2 was Soft Sector Magadne’s 
"Editor Choice". 

MicroHelp. Inc. 

2220 Ciarlyle Drive 
Marietta. QA 30062-5841 
(800) 922-3383 (404) 973-9272 


PUBLIC DOMAIN 


PUBLIC DOMAIN 

Public Domain and user supported software for 
IBM and compatibles. 

• Get more bytes for the buck! 

• 100's of disk and 1000's of programs. 

• Low as $1.25 per FULL disk. 

• Send $2 (retunoable) lor direclory disk set. 
Visa^MC accepted 

US/PO LIBRARY 
226 N. Main. Dept. PCM 
Clinton. TN 37716 
615457-2130 


IBM SOFTWARE $1.50 DISK 

We have our 950 disks lull of Ihe latest versions 
ot shareware and public domain software for the 
PC. Buy for $1.50 per disk (no min) or rent tor 
85 cents a d sk (50 disk min. with $1 per disk 
deposit). Fast delivery. COD available. Write or 
call for complete catalog. 

Genesis Systems 

894 N. G^ Ave.. Suite 208 

Pomona. CA 91767 

(714)623-2468 


••1-800-262-6053** 

IBM P.D.& User Supported software, as low as 
$1.50 per diskette!!! It you are curious or a long 
lime user, call our 24 hour order line and ask tor 
a free catalogue. The newest and best, all types, 
from accounting to word processing. Call NOW! 
(MS 601-428-5722) 

SOFTWARE CAFE 
1125 West lOfh SI. 
l^rel. MS 39442 
1-800-262-6053 24 hrs. 


$3.00 SOFTWARE FOR IBMPC 

Hundreds lo choose from, wordprocessors. 
data bases, spreadsheets, games, x-raled. lotto, 
communicalions. business, music, bible. art 
education, language and useful utilities lor 
making your computer easier to learn. Most 
programs have documentation on the disk. 
Write for your FREE catalog today! 

BEST BITS & BYTES 
P.O. Box 6245 Dept. M 
Van Nuys. CA 91409 
(818) 781-9975 


REAL ESTATE 


PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 

ComprehensM program for managing resktenlial 
and commerciaj properties Many management 
reports including ope^ng statemenL detinquenl 
rent lease expiration and transaction registef 
report Provides check writing, check reconcilia- 
lion, posting ot late fees, recurring expertses— 
$4% Investment Analysis— $245. 

YAROI SYSTEMS. INC. 

930 Laguna Street 
Santa Barbara. CA 93101 
805-966-3666 

$$ INVESTMENT ANALYSIS $$ 

No one rnakes analyzing income producing 
property easier (free demo) with such price 
performance comfort al $170 Standalone, fully 
compiled, loan amort, and deprec. schedules. 
1986 tax changes, custom features. Cash Now 
and detailed sale analyses uncover buy/hold/ 
sell/refin /exch. decision insights. 

The SOFT ESTATE 
Five Villa Verde Dr.. Suite 110 
Buffalo Grove. IL 60089 
•• (312) 259-6301 “ 

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 

Since 1978 over 6,500 users of our software 
have found it comprehensive, flexible and easy 
to use. We otter systems to manage (he follow- 
ing types ot properties: COMMERCIAL/RESI- 
DENTIAL/CONDOMINIUM/HOMEOWNERS 
ASSX./MINI-ST0RAGE FACILITIES 
For more info, and sample printoiAs call: 
REALTY AUTOMATION. INC 
2539 Saieroso 
Rowland Heights. CA 91746 
818-913-1244 


REAL ESTATE 


MANAGEMENT A ANALYSIS 

* "Real Property Management" $395/$595 for 
residential & commercial properties and other 
bkkp'g Flags delinq't tenants; prints budgets, 
checks, invoices & 1099S. No retyping ol 
recurring data. * 'Real Analyzer." $195. when 
deciding: buy/sell, exchange, or refi. 30 DAY 
MONEY BACK, 

REAL-COMP INC. 

P.O. Box 1263 
Cupertino, CA 95015 
(406) 996-1160 

INVESTMENT ANALYSIS 

Analyze and forecast any inveslmenl property or 
development, residential or commercial. As 
many loans, teases, expenses and years as you 
want. NPV. IRR and FMRR before and after tax. 
Fast 'What-ifs' Sensitivity and Risk Analysis. 
Demo & 30 day money-back. Partnerships/ 
Graphics/Monihly also available. 

Analytic Associates 
4817 Browndeer #203 
Rolling Hills Estates. CA 90274 
213-541-0418 

THE COMPLETE REAL ESTATE 
SERIES 

'Helping Thous^ids Make Millions' since 1985. 
The most complete CPA/Audilor tested and 
approved series ot Real Estate programs avail- 
able anywhere! The industry leader! The series 
includes: Complete Properly Manager-ll 
($795). Complete Real Estate Investor ($495). 
ciomplete Money Manager ($195), Complete 
Credit Checker ($249). Complete Property 
Tracker ($495) & 1031 Decisions ($995). For 
demo ($15) and/or literature call: 

ISOLUTIONSI PUBLISHING INC. 

8016 Plainfield Road 
Cincinnati. OH 45236 
800-25S6643 or 513-891-6145 


Software/Religion 

begins on the 
following page 







PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. 1988 

357 


CLASSIFIED 









RELIGION 


SECURITY 


PARISH DATA SYSHM" 

Compretiensive census/contnbulion program 
Easy 10 operale. menu driven Family, member. 
tinarKial info & reports fully integrated Selec- 
live lists, labels, conlribution/luition slale- 
ments, personalized letters User can create 
own reports, letters Other church programs 
available Over 1600 users Free Irrto 
Parish Data Systems. Inc 
3031 W Norlhern Ave . Suite 121 
Phoenix. AZ 85051 
(602) 247-3341 

POWERCHURCH PLUSr 

Fast, friendly, reliable church administration 
system Full fund accounting, mailing lists, 
membership, contributions, attendance, word 
processing, accis payable, payroll, multi-user 
support, and much more - all lor $695 com- 
plete Uses up-to-date software technology 
Unltd. capacity. FREE demo version Call today. 

CHURCH 

SOFTWARE 

Ft SOFTWARE 
PO Box 3096 
Beverly Hilts. CA 90212 
(213)654-0865 


SALES 

MARKETING 




FOLLOW-UP 


Software for Salespeople 


Mwnag* your mI«* wetivttiwt with 
FOLLOW-UP. Trcek protpwett by 
VM, dellvB, predueta, tplptppraen 
or any of 22 other wrYtry ficldt. Fast 
& May to ua* wtth on-lln« h«lp at 
•vpry point. Now In dally ua* by 
bualnaaaaa of all typM & alzaa. 

• Pamlnda you whan to eall 

■ Kaapa hiatory of pravioua eaiia 
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■ Kaapa UacK of othar thinga to do 

• Printa • wida ranga of raporta 

* Prtnta Mailing Labata 

■ Intarfacaa to your Word Procaaaor 
& M Jl Marga lattara 

* On acraan Taiamancating to a 
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• Providaa datallad aaiaa foraeaata. 

■ Importa data from ASCII fUat 

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eomputara uaing Follow-Up 

* Haa aavaral data flalda that you 
can dafina for your bualnaaa 

■ Daaignad for uaa by aaiaapaopia, 
not eompular axparta. 

$179.95 



Davaiand. Oh 44114 
800-426-6467 
In Ohio (216) 860-5766 


THE ULTIMATE BIBLE STUDY! 

New state-of-the-art Bookmaster" program. 
Fast! On-line help Find any word/subiect/ 
phrase &/or search word proximities Word 
processing: make/search loolnotes, save 
search environments, explore any topic to form 
sermons, lessons or research papers $199 lor 
6 disks & manual ( -t- 6% CA tax) 

Koala-T Software 
4039 Illinois St. 

San Diego. CA 92104 
(619) 584-4371 


SALES 

MARKETING 

WIN MORE SALES 

With SELLSTAR! a remarkable new software 
program using At technology Get expert advice 
on Ihose complex sales campaigns SELL- 
STAR! does forecasts, call reports, account 
histories, and more. Priced ai only $195 For 
more info or FREE DEMO contact: 

ESPRIT Software Technology. Inc 
PO Box 726 
Hollis. NH 03049 
(603) 465-3376 


SECURITY 


HANDS OFF 


HANDS OFF THE PROGRAM 
» an all software, privilege based 
system securi^ utility protecting 
up to 64 individuaJ users. 


HANDS OFF features; 

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• Hard Dnk Lock/Formal Prolact 

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• DOS V20 Or Highw On IBM 
PCXT. AT And 100% Cempaiiblaa 

Prica taees/add $a75-irup(Hng Check. 
Money Oder. VISA MC accepM 
ri etidentt add 6% tah* tax 
SyMma ConauRing Inc. • 412-96a-ta24 
Boa I1120e Fitbburgn. PA 152360609 
qwete S07 OH reaobr sehwce caao 


BIT-LOCK* SECURITY 

Piracy SURVIVAL 5 YEARS proves effectiveness 
ol powerful multilayered security. Rapid decryp- 
tion algorithms Reliable/small port transpareni 
security device. PARALLEL or ^RIAL port 
Countdown and timeout options also available 
KEY-LOK ” security at about BIT-LOCK cost 
MICROCOMPUTER APPLICATIONS 
7805 S. Windermere Circle 
Littleton. CO 60120 
(303) 922-6410 or 798-7683 




EVERLOCK 
COPY PROTECTION 


Designed for user-transparency, done 
compatibility & strength It features 

• no need lor damaged media or 1 0 plugs 

• supports all Hard & Floppy disk formats 

• file-server networks supported 

• variable number ol installs (0-99) 

• create demos with remote unlock option 

• allows protected upgrades by modem BBS 
$195 Starter Kit or $495 with NO meter 
counts Free info & demo disk available 



Az-Tecti Sottwsre. Ine. 
305 East Franklin 
Richmond. MO 64085 


(800) 227-0644. . .(816) 776-2700 
ancLE fee on readcr urvkc card 


KEEP YOUR FILES PRIVATE! 

MicroLock data security software protects MS- 
DOS files/programs from unauthorized access. 
MicroLock features three levels of password, 
unique encryption algorithm, can hide files and 
programs, protects against accidental deletion, 
and uses one simple control menu w/on-screen 
help. Only $49.95 ( -i- S3 s/h). CheckA/isa'MC 
MICRONICHE. INC 
P 0. Box 36244 
Louisville. KY 40233-6244 
(502) 561-5507 


TO PLACE YOUR AD 


THE SHOWCASE FOR 

IN PC Magazine 


PRODUCTS AND 

Classified M^clplace 


SERVICES IN THE MS 

Call (212) 503-5115 


DOS MARKET . . . 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. 1988 

358 


PC MAGAZINE 
CLASSIFIED 
MARKETPLACE 

the ultimate 
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SECURITY 


STATISTICS 



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Systems Incorporated 
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Call 408/970-9240 

aRCLE 7$2 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


STATISTICS 


THE BASS SYSTEM 

SAS’-like Power cn a 256K PC! BASSBase 
runs many SAS programs on a 2S6K 2 tioppy 
PC. BASSView gives a true windowing environ- 
ment. BASSSiat (in beta test) adds an expanded 
slat pack. ’SAS a SAS Institute TM. 
BASSBase-$95 BASSBaseA^jew-$159 
BASS INSTITUTE. INC. 

P.O. Box 349 

Chapel Hill. NC 27514 

919-489-0729 B B;?19-489-9665 (N.8.1) 


SI6STAT 

SIGSTAT iiKludes over 70 programs of the 
BUD stalislical se'ies. plus many advanced 
new features. Uainiraine capacity (up lo 60 var.) 
for uni— {e.g , ANOVA. regression) + multi- 
variate (e.g.. canonical, factor.) analyses, lime- 
series. mutlicim scaling, crosslab. plots, q/c 
and more. 8087 support opt.256K. DOS. S595. 
SIGNIFICANT STATISTICS 
3336 N. Canyon Road 
Provo. UT 84604 
(801) 377-4860 


THE SHOWCASE FOR 
PRODUCTS AND 
SERVICES IN THE MS 
DOS MARKET . . . 


BELIEVE IT! 


Stoffoc GoW™ with the 
Forecast Plus”' Option is Itie Most 
Powerful Statistical Atxilysis and 
Forecasting Pockoge Available 
lot the Microcomputer 

FREE Compretiensive Broctxire: 

1 - 800 - 328-4907 

WALONICK ASSOCIATES. INC. 

6500 PAicoiiet Ave S . Mnneopob. MN 56423 

(612) 866-9022 

CIRCLE 7S3 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


Ail the Stats You Need 

BMDP otters the most comprehensive collec- 
tion ot programs lor PCs & mainirames. BMDP 
has all the statistics you need. From the simple 
lo the most sophisticated Advanced techniques 
include lime series, survival analysis, log- 
linear modeling & more! Hard disk req'd Call 
for complete program details & prices. 



STATISTICAL SOF=TWARE 


BMDP Statistical Software. Inc 
1440 Sepulveda Blvd 
Los Angeles. CA 90025 
(213) 479-7799 

RATS! Version 2.1 

Best selling econometrics program. OLS. 
2SLS. SURE, logit, probil and much more' 
Forecasting with ARIMA. VAR. Exponential 
smoothing. Model simulations Support for 
daily/weckly data High quality graphics lo 
screen, plotter, printer. S200-S300 Visa'MC 
Demo available. Call 
VAR Econometrics. Inc. 

P.O. Box 1818 
Evanston. IL 60204-1818 
(312) 864-8772. (800) 822-8038 


STATISTIX 

A powerful yet incredibly easy-to- 
use statistical system. Ou4)erforms 
programs costing much more. 
Flexible data management and 
transformations, mult, regression. 
ANOVA. most standard parametric 
and non-parametric tests, p-values. 
plots, histograms and many others. 
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED! 

S*&a 62 for d—e diak (XBM only) 

■ PCWS-OOS - $169 iNHAnalyilnl SofMw* 

• Appit II Wa/CA3S • $99 RO Boi 13304 

• 5orfTiomcopi««.20%on ReaavllUbMSSiil 


CIRCLE 7S4 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


MEMBERS ONLY FREE SOFTWARE! 

Superbly designed, exquisitely documented 
marketing science software. RxCON Conjoint 
analysis package. RxPRICE price sensitivity 
package. RxMAP Perceptual mapping program, 
RxTAB Cross-tab package, and RxSTAT (inte- 
grated with RxTAB) 33 stal routines. ALL FREE! 
Includes Demos, tutorials, upgrades and new 
releases as developed $195/Yr for everything 
VISA, MC, AMERICAN EXPRESS 
MSSA-MARKETING SCIENCE 
SOFTWARE ASSOC 
Educational division ot DATALOGICS 
1-800-992-0422'Pa 215-794-3517 


NCSS plus-S99 

Easy-to-use menus & spread sheet Multiple 
regression T-iests ANOVA (up lo 10 (actors, rep. 
measures, covariance) Forecasting Factor, dus- 
ter. & discriminant analysis Nonparamelrics. 
Cross Tabulation Plots histograms, box. scatter, 
siemleal Son. Subset Trandormations Reads 
ASCII New graphics Pkg S59 
NCSS 

865 East 400 North 
Kaysville. UT 84037 
Phone; 801-546-0445 


TAXES 


PC-TaiGuide ' 

Instant access to complete IRS instructions 
’Includes easy-to-use retrieval s/w ’MS Win- 
dows'”. resident & stand-alone version ’20 + 
docu./module ‘Individual 1040-S65. Prof. 
1040-S145. Pannership-S99. Corporate-S145. 
IRS Publications-$65 ’CK/ COD +S5S/H. 
Windows Tax'" + CD-ROM nexl year. 
Chicago Software, tnc. 

1507 W. George 
Chicago, ll 60657 
(312) 327-7606 


TAX TOOL 1040 

For prolessionals/individuals. over 5 years ex- 
perience. expanded and simplified: (ax plan- 
ning, daia organizer to lax forms, son itemized, 
alert checking, turbo speed, over 20 torms, 
excellent screen tutorial Written in basic Fed: 
S39.95. plus NY/NJ $49 95 IRS or computer 
gen form. 

MAU Corporation 
57-09 155th Street 
Flushing. NY 11355 
(718) KEY-5038/Chk/VISA/MC 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. 1988 


359 


CLASSIFIED 








TAXES 


AM-TAX 


The fast, easy way to prepare 
your 1987 income tax return. 
Runs on IBM PC w/256K. 

Supports A-SE,2106.2119.2441. 
3963.4136.4562,6251.8615 

All forms arc cross-referenced. 
Complete tax recalculation in 
an instant. 

IR5^3pproved printouts for all 
supporting forms & schedules. 
Also supports overlays or prints 
directly onto preprinted forms. 

Only $45 

Integrated state packages Tor 
NY, NJ. and .MO - S30 each. 

Check. CO.D, M/C, VISA 

Don’t let the low price fool you. 
AM-Tax can do plenty!! 


AM SOFTWARE 

P.O. Box 25010 
Kansas City, MO 64119 
(816)241-0014 to order 

ORCLE 7S6 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


TaxEase'" SYSTEM 


federal & State returns on single disk- 
only ^ 96 Easy to use Calculates 
automaticallY. gerlorms complex 
’’What if options, prints IRS-approved 
forms AZ. CA. CO. DC. GA. IL. IN. MA. 
MO. Ml. MN. MO. NC. NJ. NY. OH. OK. 
PA. VA. Wl Requires Lotus 1-2-3 or 
comp spreadsheet VISA/MC S3s/h 
dig. Money back guarantee. 
Professional package available — $99 


Park Technologies. Inc 
P 0 Box 1317 
Clifton Park. NY 12065 
518/877-5881 or 800/423-3188 outside NY 



TAX PREPARATION SOFTWARE 


Money back il not pleased 1040A. 1040EZ, 
1040. A-F. R. S£. 2106. 2119. 2441, 3468, 3903. 
4562. 4684. 5695. 8615. Two schedules C. 
Prints submittable forms. Easy to use. walks 
you thru the forms. Txbl inc. & tax liabilily 
displayed Reg. 1-2-3 or Symphony. $24.95 + 
$5 s/h CA res add 6% tx. No cards. Spefy 
1-2-3 or Sym on order. 

MYKRO-KOSIM 
1790-A Lakeside Drive 
Felton. CA 95016 
408-335-7396 


TERMINAL EMULATION 


Terminal Emulation 

EM220 VT220 and VT102 

emulator. Includes file transfer, 
screen scroll back, and many 
other features. 


EM4010 VT220 and Tektronix 
4010/4014 emulator. Features high 
resolution hardcopy and support for 
EGA, VGA, and Hercules graphics. 


4 


■ ■ ■ Diversified Computer Systems, Inc. 
3775 Iris Avenue. Suite IB 
Boulder. Colorado 80301 (303)447-9251 

CrnClE 7S7 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


TO PLACE YOUR AD IN 
PC Magazine Classified Marketplace 
Call (212) 503-5115 


UTILITIES 



Hard Disk 
Integration and 
Partitioning Software 

■ For PC ATs.XTs and compatibles. 

■ Integrates vlrtuallyall S'/, Inch drives. 

■ Supports ST4I2, RLL, ESDI arxl SCSI controllers. 

■ Flexible partitioning, with volumes of ary sbe. 

■ Spans multiple drives Into a single volume. 

■ Indudes troubte-shootlng dlagnostks. 

■ Powerful, yet extremely eay to use. 





$99 

EDITOR’S CHOICE (»«»ge.»d refill 

"If you have to make a hard disk drive and controller 
work together , . . . SpeedStor Is a dream come true." 


I , r "SpeedStor software makes Installation 

y IIMPPII simple and painless . . . Itsuser 
Interface Is ajoyto work with." 


Used major disk drh« arKl PC manufacturers. 2S0,00(H units sold. 
Now available through Softsel de a len. 

g SfORAGE DIMENSIONS 

A MBClav Company 

981 UnlvenHyAve., Los Gatos. CA 95030. (4061 395-2688 
CIRCLE 7SS ON READER SERVICE CARD 


BREAK 640K1 

Why buy expensive boards? VRAM"* gives 
your PC/XT/AT or PS/2 8 megabytes of memory 
by turning disk space into expanded memory! 
Use extended memory lor expanded memory. 
Create VERY LARGE worksheets. FAST. 640K 
not required. Use with t-2-3. Syrr^ihony. and 
other EMS programs. $49 S3 s/h. 
BIOLOGIC COMPANY 
11982 Coverstone Hill Circle. Ste 1622 
Manassas. VA 22110 
(703) 368-2949/Chk-COD 

PC-WITS by TEEBELL, INC. 

A file management & disk editing tool lor every 
PC/MS DOS user. See all your directories and 
files on a single screen. Find, view, sort, rename 
or delete with single key strokes Move or copy 
files from directory to directory, drive lo drive. 
PC to PC . . . and more. $49.95. Free demo 
di^. 

TEEBELL. INC. 

P.O. Box 297 
Ossipee, NH 03864 
603-539-5488 . 


***IBM Uses CP/M & Apple*** 

“The best”, ‘slrongly rccommend^ '-PC mag. 
a Unilorm copies files, reads & writes directly 
lo 200 CP/M disk formats on the PC.XT.AT-by 
Micro Solutions $59.95 -f $3 S/H 
a MatchPoint 1//2 card transfers Apple DOS. 
SOS. CP/M and ProOOS files to IBM PC.XT. 
AT-$185-t-$3 S/H (includes FREE Unitonn!^ 
Blue Heron 
1108 S. Second Si. 

Dekalb. Illinois 60115 
(815)758-2355 

HERCULES OR CLONE OWNERS! 

Run CGA sottviiare. ewn most sell booling and 
color port reading, with CGASim . a non copy 
protected, removable. 4K. TSR routine. Runs 
Print Shop. MeaniB. BasicA. Jet. Galo. PC- Pool 
He ai normal speeds without ghosting and 
prints graphics with IBM/Epson commands. 
$29 -I- $2Sm( -t- 6% PA (ax)i Check/MO. 
SWIOWA SOFTWARE 
P.O. Box to 

North Versailles. PA 15137 
(412) 823-8435 


Software/Utilities 

continued on the following page 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. 19X8 

360 




UTILITIES 


UTILITIES 


RUN NOVELL WITHOUT KEYCARD 
Protect Novell Network from 
crashing due to Keycard Failure 

Break the 12MHZ server barrier 
Free-up slot in server 


NetSAFE for v2.X $99 US 

Other products available for: 

P-C'AO CAD Key CADvance 


VISA or American Express 


Nasdec 


Include $10 shipping 
Unit #72 
125 Garry Street 
Winnipeg. MB. 
Canada R3C 3P2 
(204) 956-279R 


(3ur ptoducts should not 
and are not imended lor 
producten ol software lor 
sale or trade or lor 
any purpose that wuld 
depnve author ol pay- 
ment 


anCLE 7S9 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


Ammunition to conquer 
your biggest problems! 


wiir>oul V-EMM 
| 6«0 Mobync) 

• The Virtual Eipartded Memory Manager 
provides your EMS applications with up to 
eight megabytes of expanded memory 

• It turns PC/AT or PS/2 ex- 
tended memory into expanded 
memory. 

• It turns hard disk storage Into 
expanded memory. 

• It's compatible wSh most EMS 
applicationt. Including 1-2-3 
and Symphony 

e OnVS89 95 3(MaY rtiorwy-baclt gutranl9« 
Port'a Software 
P. 0. Box 396 
Manhattan. KS 66502 
(913) S37-2897 


V-emm'“ 




VCACHE GETS YOUR DISK 
MOVING! 

Hard disk atxeierator irureases speed of car 
tridge and fixed disk oper^ions using memory 
caching to eiimin^e repelilivc disk access. Allo- 
cate up to 15 Mb of extended or expanded 
memory, or .5 Mb of standard memory for 
(aching disk data, includes disketle ml screen 
accelerator modules. Automate and transparent 
after instailalion. $4995 -h $3 shpg. CA tax. 



GOLDEN BOW SYSTEMS 
2870 Fifth Avenue. Suite 201 
San Oiego. CA 92103 
800-284-3269 


AT’s DON’T NEED 
360KB DRIVES 


ADows copying of IBM AT tiles lor use on 
IBM PCs. )^s. and compatibles with no 
hardware or software modifications. A 
360K floppy drtve is rx)t required. 
"CPYAiSrc " may reside on your IBM 
AT hard disk and copies 1 file or entire 
subdirectones in 1 step. Price $79. + 
$4s/h 

MICROBRIDGE COMPUTERS 
INTERNATIONAL, INC. 

655 Sky Way • Suite 1 25 
San Carlos. CA 94070 
1-800-523-8777 
(CA) 415-593-8777 
(NY) 212-334-1858 


CIRCLE 761 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


Opt-Tech Sort/Merge 3.0 

Extremely last Sort/Merge program. Run as a DOS 
command or CALL as a subroutine. Unlimited 
filesizes. most languages, datatypes & liletypes 
supported inctjding Btrieve and dBASE II & III. 
Actonced features include record selection, rec- 
ord reformatting & much mote! Call or write lor 
more info. MS-DOS $149 Zenix $249 
Opt-Tech Dala Processing 
P.O. Box 678 
Zephyr Cove, NV 89448 
(702) 588-3737 

LIMSIM 

Expanded Memory Simulator lor the 286 & 386 
machines. Use the extended memory you al- 
ready have as Lotus style Expanded ktemory. 
PC Magazine (March 31. 1967) says "Easy lo 
use and well documented.’ $65 ($95 with 
assembler source) plus $5 30 (lay money 

back guarantee. Visa/MC accepted 
Larson Computing 
1556 Halford Ave #142 
Santa Clara. CA 95051 
(408) 737-0627 



Spreadsheet Users! Only $49.95 

When ycTu have mcTe to print than ycxir printer width allow's. . . 

• Print your widest report, financial, graph, chart, or present' 
ation, vertically across as many pages as you need. 

• Print in many different fonts, sizes, and resolutions 

• Use virtually any bit mapped laser, dot 

matrix, inkjet printer Jewell Technologies 

• Be compatible with Lotus 1'2'3, Sym- 4740 44th Ave. S.W. 

phony, Multiplan and most other pop- Suite 203 

ular spreadsheet programs. Seattle, WA 98116 

aRCLE 762 DN READER SERVICE CARD 206-93 7-1081 


WORD PROCESSING 


CompareRit«^ 

CompareRite saves h(xjrs of editing time by comparing two documents and gener- 
ating a third showing the differences— in an average of two seconds per page. 
It will create a complete comparison draft, ready for printing, or display the 
changes on the screen so you can scan them. CompareRite highlights changes 
the way you want to see them Additions in boldface, deletions underlined or 
numbered as endnotes? No problem. 

CompareRite is the smart solution to working with multiple drafts of articles, con- 
tracts. proposals, reports, documentation, manuals, or any word processing doc- 
ument. CompareRite works with all major wording processing programs. 
Price — $ 129.95 shipping/handling 

JURISoft, Inc. 

763 Massachusetts Avenue Dept. 1003 
Cambridge. MA 02139 
1-600-262-5656 ext. 1003 

CIRCLE 763 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


Optical Character Recognition 

Stop raping PC-OCR software will conved 
1^)^ or printed pages into editable text files tor 
your word processor Works with HP ScanJet. 
Canon and most other scanners. Supplied with 
15 popular fonts. User trainable; you can teach 
PC-OCR to read virtually any typestyle. includ- 
ing foreign fonts. Proportional (ext. matrix 
printer oulpul. xerox copies OK $385 Chk/ 
VISAMC AMEX/COD. 

Essex Publishing 
P.O. Box 391 
Cedar 6r(7ve, N.J 07009 
(201)783-6940 

The WordPerfect’" Test 

How well do you or your stall use WordPertect? 
Is training needed? It so, in whal areas? TEST- 
WP is a combination assessment and training 
package. Answer the questions and get results. 
Invaluable tool lor trainers, personnel or indi- 
viduals. Extensive reterence manual. Requires 
320K. $89 + 841. MC/VISA/AMEX. 

MICRO STANDARDS CORPORATION 
329 North State Street 
Orem. Utah 84057 

800-222-9409 (in Utah 801-227-7100) 


FARSi/GREEK/ARABIC/RUSSIAN 

Hebrew, alt European. Scand. plus either Kindi. 
Punjabi. Bengali. Gujarati Tamil, Thai, Korean, 
Viet, or IPA Full-featured multi-language word- 
processor supports on-screen foreign charac- 
lers and NLQ printing w. no hardware moditica- 
lions. Includes Font Editor. $355 dot matrix; 
$150 add'l for laser, $19 demo. S/H in U.S. 
incl'd. Req PC, 640K. graphics 
30 day guarantee 
GAMMA PRODUCTIONS. INC. 

710 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 609 
Santa Monica. CA 90401 
(213) 394-8622 MC/VISA/AMEX 

Worid's Bilingual Word 

OuangJan 1.3, bilingual word processor tor 
English and ol these: Armenian. Bengali. Euro/ 
Latin. Greek, Hindi. Khmer, Lao. Russian. Tam- 
il. Telugu. Thai. Viel.. or create your own lan- 
guage with font editor $69 + $4 s/h in US and 
Can. ($10 s/h foreign). For IBM compatibles 
with graphics & dot-matrix printer. Laser Jet 
add $49 Demo $5. 

MegaChomp Company 
3524 Cottman Avenue 
Philadelphia. PA 19149-1606. U S A. 
215-331-2748/8138 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. 1988 

361 


CLASSIFIED 









MISCELLANEOUS BAR CODING 


BAR CODING 


ACCESSORIES 



• 100% Cotton Convos • Breathable! 

• Beige w/Grey Trim • Static-free 

For: Computers and Printers 

IBM. Epson. AT&T. Leading Edge. Compaq 

(800) 826-5761 

' In CA; (415) 759-1466 

Contemporary ComputerWear 

|l320-36th Avenue San Francisco. CA 94122 

{ CWCLETM ON R6A06R SERVICE CARO 


PRINTER RIBBONS 

C ITOH Prowritef $4.95 

EPSON M)(/FXfflX80 $5.00 

EPSON MX/FX^X100 $6.50 

OKIDATA 92/93 2.45 

OKI DATA 182/192^93, + $5.00 


Call tor complete list of products & info. Dealer 
inquiries welcomed. 

DATEC DISTRIBUTION 
PO- Box 411 
Freemonl. CA 94537 
415-790-6393 


BAR CODING 



BAR CODE— LABEL PRINTING 

Trt LABa MAKER"'prints bar codes. OCR-A 
like and large characters from data entered at 
keytioard or from disk files. Create and save 
unique printing formats and record layouts. Per- 
torrns record add, change, delete, sort and select 
on disk files. A.I. LAE^MAKBU” prinis AIAG 
shipping/parts kfentificalion labels required by 
Auto Mttrs. Requires IBM PC or work-alike. 

TJ SOFTWARE INC. 

P.O, Box 2044 
Arlington Heights, IL 60006 
(312) 364-1065 


BAR CODES 
MADE EASY 





PERCON- E-Z-READER ^ 

FAST • ACCURATE • RUGGED 

NO SOFTWARE CHANGES with PO 
XT/AT, AT&T 63C0f730D. TeteVOco 905/ 
955. KifTOon KT-7/PC, Link PCTerm. Tipie- 
Video PCSI & DEC VT220 keyboards 
Mub-usef RS 232 rterfaces 

• fmmedate stKpnwt 

• Frw prx>ne suppoo 

• 2-yeaf warrancy 

• Bar code printing software 
avaiabie 

Details or Quesoons? Call us. 

(503) 344-1189 

' w iltn Ave. Eugene. OR 9Ma? 

A L£AOC» M 8AR COOC KAOCn ENGMEEnNC 


PERCON' 


ITS 


NEW BARCODE 
BARGAINS FOR 
RESELLERS 


OMcriptlon U«t Prtc* ITS Pric* 
B«r Cod* G wnf w tion Software uses 
most matrix printers to print labels in 
codes 3 of 9. CODA-BAR, 2 of 5. UPC-A 
and 128. 

S125 $69 

PC*War>d Bar Code Reeder emulates 
the key^rd and reads codes UPC. 
CPOABAR, 3 of 9 and 2 Of 5 interleaved 
on IBM PCOCT, PC/AT and clones. 
Wand induded. 

$495 $295 

NEW! Serial Scanrver, compatible with 
any kind of computer with industrial 
standard interface RS232 or RS422. 
Reads bar codes of UPC/EAN, 2 of 5. 3 
ol 9 and COOABAR. Wand included. 

$529 $319 

NEW! The FTS Wai>derWand(tm), a 
handheld, lightweight portable bar code 
reader, holds up to 48,1 27 characters of 
data, automatically disaiminates among 
label codes, time-stamps labels, caicu- 
tates. & dumps scans through standard 
sehal RS232 plug. Warxf induded. 

$1195 $695 

WwBend TschnoloQiM ind Sy X m w Corp. 

1 l9WW«iSwO'.DMm>naBir.CA»t»ft 

I niara.m4)M1-7B77 TaM 2H7I6ITSCO IM 


1" 


emeu 7«s ON ncaoea serivicE card 


WHY PAY MORE $7-$95 

Bar Code Printing Software tor PC. XT, AT. & 
Comp, winters w/Epson-IBM graphics emula- 
tion. Untversal Bar Code Generator $45 (Works 
with almost any program).Tesl disk $7. Small 
labels, large labels. Logmars. A1A6. dBASL & 
subr. lor Basic. Compilers, WP. Data Mgmt., etc. 
$25-$95 Bar Code readers S200-$900 
GORDON COMPANY 
20210 Laceyland 
Katy, Texas 77449 
713-578-5522 




LABELING SOFTWARE 


DATA SOLUTIONS 

417-A Ingalls Street 
Santa Cruz. CA 95060 


408/458-9938 


For DOT MATRK and Laser Printers 
(Epson/IBM/Olddata and LaserJet) 

• Flexible formal • Any size label • Auto-Incrementing 

• Labels for bins, shelves. • Reversals 

inventory - name tags • Color Options 

• Big text readable up to 50 ft • Laser Soft Fonts 

• Bar Codes: 2 of 5, UPC/EAN. • File Input 
MIL-STD. AIAG, Code 39. etc. • Very fast • Easy 

Label above printed with $279 program. 

Other bar code programs from $49. 

BAR CODE READERS 

For PC/XT/AT & PS/2 

• Attaches as 2nd Keyboard 

• No software changes 

• Rugged Metal Pen 

• Reads 2 of 5. UPC/EAN, 
Codabar, Code 39 

PS/2 model $399 

PC/XT/ AT model $385 

(upgrade to PS/2 $30) 

ALSO Multi-user RS-232 a 
Mag Stripe Readers 

30 Day Money Back 
Guarantee! 


m 




TO PLACE YOUR AD 
IN PC Magazine 
Classified Marketplace 
Call (212) 503-5115 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9. 1988 

362 











FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO PLACE YOUR AD CALL 212 503-5115 . 



BAR CODING 


BAR CODE & 
MAGNETIC STRIPE 
READERS 

for the IBM PC & PS/2 

Sin 
No e 

Also avsilsbio: 

Bar code printing software 
Magrtetic stripe encoders 
Units for other computers & terminals 
GSA pricing available 

TPS ELECTRONICS 
4047 Transport Street 
Palo Alto, CA 94303 
Telephone: 415-856-6833 

Telex: (Graphnet) 371-9097 TPS PLA 
FAX: 415-856-3843 
ORCLE 766 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


BUSINESS 

OPPORTUNITIES 

EARN EXTRA SS» AT HOME 

Receive needed exposure to earn extra income 
by listino your experience, goals and equip- 
ment. Our database provides low cosVrisk ap- 
proach to introduce home programmers and 
companies needing programming help. Send 
now lor complete into package and apolication. 
Only cost is a low. one-time application fee. 
HOME PROGRAMMERS. INC. 

P.0, Box 243-N18 
Ei Segundo. CA 90245-0243 


CATALOGUES 


PCjr 

Expansion Products 


Possibly the largest selection 
of PCjr products in the 
country. We don't just sell 
PCjr products, we design them. 
*Spccd Up Products 
•PwuJo DMA Cartridges 
•Second Floppy Disk Drives 
•.1^6 Disk Drives 
•PCjr Optical Mice 
•Monitor Adapters for PC's 
•Parallel Printer Pons 
• Full Size Keyboards 
•Speech Attachments 
•Joysticks. Cables. A Adaptors 
Call or write to receive our free 
.TJ-page catalog of PCjr Add-On 
products. For even faster rcsulw. 
circle our reader service number, 
PC Enterprises 
“The jrProducIs Group" 

Box 292, Belmar, NJ 07719 
(201) 280-0025 (800) e22>PCJR 
CS«CLE 7M ON READER SERVICE CARO 


■III mil mil mil mil iiil 

I PrIntBarll 

BAR CODE PRINTING SOFTWARE 

Print Code 39. 2 of 5, UPC-A bar codes 
on IBM, Epsen, HP LaserJet printers 
with PrIrttBar II memory-resident soft- 
ware. Print directly from your own pro- 
grams In DBASE, Lotus. WordStar, C. 
BASIC, without copyira data to special 
print files. IBM PC/XT/AT and com- 
patibles. Versatile, easy set-up. no pro- 
gramming required. S295.00 

PC Wand Bar Code Reader that acts 
like second keyboard, no software 
needed. 9398.00 

Bear Rock Software Co. 
6069 Enterprise Drive 
Placerville. CA 95667 

(916)622-4640 

CIRCLE 767 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


COMPUTER 

INSURANCE 


INSUIIES YOUR 
COMPUTERS 

Full replacement of hardware, media, 
purchased software. As low as $39 
yearly. Covers fire, theft power surges, 
other accidents. Call for information 
or immediate coverage 

1 -800-848-3469^ 

SAFEWARE, The Insurance Agency Inc 
2929 N. High Street P.O. Box 022 1 1 
Columbus OH 43202 

ORCLE 7SS ON READER SERVICE CARD 


DATA SECURITY INSURANCE 

The 'all risk" F^rsonal Computer Policy Irom 
DSI includes essential coverages not available 
wilh other policies; protection againsi loss of 
data (even from accidental ^asure), loss ol 
custom programs, and fraud. As low as $35 per 
year. Coverage can be bound by telephone. 9 lo 
4 Mountain Time. 

DATA SECURITY INSURANCE 
4600 Riverbend Road. P.O. Box 9003 
Boulder. CO 80301 
(303) 442-0900. (800) 822-0901 

SAFEWARE 

Insure your computer. Safeware provides full 
replacement of hardware, media, and pur- 
chased software. As little as S39 a year provides 
comprehensive coverage. With our blanket 
coverage.no ists o' equipment are needed. One 
phone call does it all! Call Sam to 10pm EST 
(Sat 9 10 5). 

SAFEWARE. THE INSURANCE AGENCY INC. 
2929 N. High Street. P.O. Box 02211 
Columbus. OH 49202 

(614) 262-0559 (OH); (800) 846-3469 (NAT) 


DATA 

CONVERSION 


DISK/TAPE/OPTICAL SCANNING 

• 334 per page typewritten text lo disk in ASCII, 
WP formats available on request 

• Scan Typeset (ext 6 lo 24p( low rates 

• Disk convert from IBM. WANG. XEROX. MAC- 
INTOSH + 1000 other formas (bi-diredional) 

• Tape conversions (800, 1600, 3200, 6250 BPI) 

• Quick turnaround— Quality Guraranteed. 

1st RUN COMPUTER SERVICES 

1261 Broadway Suite 508 
New York, NY. 10001 
(212) 779-0800 


DISK 

CONVERSION 


TAPE/DISK 

CONVERSIONS^ 




Conversion services to or from 
over 1000 computer systems; 

• Magtapes • Mini Computers 

• Micro Computers • Typesetters 

• Word Processors 

CALL THE INDUSTRY LEADERS 


PIVAR 

COMPUTER SERVICES, inc. 


(312) 459-6010 

165 Arlington Heights Rd #M 
Buffalo Grove, )L 60089 

CIRCLE 770 ON READER SERVICE CARO 


CHANGING WORD PROCESSORS? 

Media transfer lo or from; 

IBM. XEROX. DEC. WANG. 

LANIER, CPT, CT, MICOM, NBI. 

WORDSTAR. WORDPERFECT. MS/WRO, DW3, 

MULTIMATE. SAMNA. MASH. OCA. 

***#***FREE TEST CONVERSION****** 

Conversion Specialists 

531 Main St. Suite 835 

El Segundo. CA 92045 

(213) 545-6551 • (213) 322-6319 


TO PLACE YOUR 
AD IN 
PC Magazine 
Classified 
Marketplace 
Call (212) 503-5115 


DISK 

CONVERSION 


TAPETOFLOPPY 
FLOPPY-TOTAPE 
Tape duplication 
Floppy To Microfiche 
Laser Printing 
Slide graphics 


l'800-422-9622 

llnOK;')l825a (10221 


TKHNICAL PROeUMMINB 
SERVICES, INC 

m IASI ilST SRtfT 
ruSA. or ;4I3)-1)0I 


TAPE TO DISK CONVERSION 

Unbeatable Prices-As-Low-As S20/MB 

• 24 Hour Turnaround 

• Highest Quality • ALL Work Guaranteed 

• Professional. Technical Staff 

• Statistical Analysis 

• Sorting, Programing 

• 15 YEARS EXPERIENC E 
PRECiSiON CONVERSIONS 
15 Harbor Circle 
Centerport, NY 11721 
(516) 261-1200 


DISKETTE COPY 
SERVICE 

nmm 


100% CERTIFIED 
5Va" BULK DISKS 


5V4' ds/dd 59 ‘ 
5V 4" ds/hd 1. 59 
3V2" ds/dd 1.09 

Prtc* bated on quantity of 300 
inckMlet aleevet. lebela end lab*. 

800-222-0490 

In NJ 201-462-7628 


• 24 Hour Shipment • 

MEGASo^f 

PO Box 710, FfeehOid NJ 07726 


Miscellaneous/ 
Diskette Copy 
Service 
continued . . . 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH 2 9, 
363 


CLASSIFIED 





THE SHOWCASE FOR PROOVCTS AST) SERVICES IS' THE MS DOS MARKET . . . 



DISKETTE COPY SERVICE 


SUPPLIES 



ALPHA Laser Cartridge RECHARGERS 


• 30*50% longer life • Fully disassemWed/no holes cut 

• High density toner used • No pooling 

24 Hour Shipment 

Send S39.00 (ifxludes S/H) with each cartridge to; 

ALPHA RECHARGERS 
1 300 Dallas Drive. #3 1 2. Denton. Texas 7620 1 
1817) 382-5790 

24 Hours Mon. -Fri, orcle m o« reaocr SERvice card 


LASER CARTRIDGE 
RECHARGE 

Cut your cost in half with recharged 
Laser printer cartridges. 
Exclusive toner with blackest print 
and top quality. 

Cartridges last 20% loriger. 
Money back guarantee. 

27 different Laser Printer 
engines to recharge. 

Send empty cartridge with $40 -«■ S3 s/h. 
Monthly discounts. Toner available. 
LASER SYSTEMS/ 

TONER TECHNOLOGIES 
23 NO. MAIN / P.O. BOX 407 
KAYSVILLE. UT. 84037 
(801)544-3090 

qWCLE 774 OW READER SCRVtCE CARO 


$1111 11 $ tout INPTT 
TORI (HTIIDdS $10 



^milRIICTPUICC 

the ultinate target narket! 

Thr biuid tpeciOen »hu fMd K UMUiiir <>uRl lutr Uk Umr lu >lMf> af.ianiL ihrir Ml) ron 
rprn • (Hliajt «hal thr) nrrd •> quack!) at poaibir 

They’ll DIBECT their attentioo U> 

PC Magaziiie daaaified Marketplace 

Tiir ihrtn Pi Uwujnc ('lu.\jfipi] Uvtrtpbr's thrwi Hcipunfb I lupU) U format rrprrspflU a (au. 
rat) and >.«»l rn«'(ivr mrihodWpniducIacquiulxMi.Tlicyknuu H will have Ihrpraduculhr) nrrd and 
thr inlomiaiiM ihry wmi rrsirduiii pnrr. \»hinr dBCMinu, tprciTicaiiona and drlivrf) 

If you thiak Ihil jmr busanruran ^arflt (rom thr UO.OOO brand tprcinm who read PC Majuairx* 
YUCIIE RIGIfT’ 


So take DOtECT acdoo and caU (212) 502*5115 





avsTCMSl 


SOFTWARE PACKAGING 
To Meet Your Needs 






CIRCLE rre on reader service card 
Glenco Development Systems offers several choices to help you 
with your software packaging. Our product line irKludes cloth 
and vinyl binders/pt^olios for your users manual and program 
diskette The binders can be saeened with your company logo to 
add that extra personal touch. ITie final produa is an organized, 
eye-catching presentation that your efforts deserve 
In addition to packaging. Gienco Development Systems off^s a 
wide variety of services. irKluding finished produa assembly, to 
help get your software products to market Typesetting of manuals 
can be as easy as serxling an ASCII file Duplication and label 
affixing as well as produa assembly/shrink wrap are readily avail- 
able Please consult us with your specific needs. 

3920 Ridge Avenue 

Arlington Hts.. IL 60(X)4 

; 1312)392-2492 


1 MAOEINUSA 

s . 

DISKETTES 

OSOO 

• 

33C 

aaen 

o 

DSHD 


89C 

1 

aach 

1 


WE HAVE DATA CAr?T'?=X' m^S 

CARTRIDGES IN ~ 

STOCK' oM maxell. 

Call for am 

PRE 8 w iw fm iilt wii&’-aK Voaw 

(arut Oi/O'f oa rowK vfros 


3'T. " DISKETTES 

(UNBRANDED) = ' 


99C 


Pr*Cl8lon Oita Products * 

PO ioiSM' 0>ua«itp«t Ml assn, 
iSTti au Msr . aas ««•> assa 
> tpo U3 

OwiaiUa U<n.«BA < aao 7M OOM 


TO PLACE YOUR AD IN 
PC Magazine 
Classifled Marketplace 
Call (212) 503-5115 



PC MAGAZINE a MARCH 2 9. 1988 
364 







Editorial prcoxt index 


NUMBER PRODUCT 

COMPANY 

PAGE 

ADD4N BOARDS 

447 

Datacard 

Newer Technology 

51 

436 

Display Adapter 8514/A 

IBMCorp 

33 

AFTER HOURS 

667 

Bookmasier Bible 

BootonasterCorp 

370 

636 

Border Zone 

Intocomlnc 

374 

668 

Daily Features 

GmSpb^ 

ChanndmarkCorp 

372 

666 

Kingdom Age Software 

370 

670 

Police Quest 

Sierra Online 

376 

669 

Protect: Space Station 

Avaniage 

372 

COMMUNICATfONS 

443 

LAP-UNKMac 

Travelmg Software Inc 

51 

COMPUTERS 

681 

CoiT^Portabto386 

O^Pack386 

Compaq Computer Corp 

95 

660 

Ootch Computer Systems 

96 

679 

Epson Equity LT 
GRiOCasel^ 

Epson Amenca Inc 

97 

678 

GRID Systems Corp. 

102 

677 

HPPorlableVecIraCS 

Hewlett-Padard Co 

106 

455 

HPVedraRS/20 

Hewlett-Padord Co. 

33 

676 

675 

Kaypro 2000 Phis 
NECMulbSpeed HD 

KamCorp. 

NEC Home Itectromcs 

115 

117 

674 

Sharp PC4521 

(USA) Inc 

Sharp Electronics Corp . 

120 

673 

Sharp PC-7221 

Sharp Electronics Corp. 

126 

672 

Toshiba T1 000 

Toshiba Amenca Inc 

132 

671 

Toshiba T1 200 

Toshiba America Inc. 

134 

670 

Zenith Z-ie3 

Zenith Data Systems 

136 

coNNEcnvrrv I 

637 

Meridian LANSIar PC 

Northern Telecom Inc. 

227 I 

DECISION SOFTWARE I 

431 

Game Plan. 

N . Dean Meyer and 

54 


Version 2 0 

Associate Inc. 


DESKTOP PUBUSHINQ 

441 

Font Effects 

SoftCraftlnc. 

36 

442 

Fomware Typeface 

Bitstream Inc. 

36 

441 

Packages 

WYSl^t 

Softcraft Inc. 

38 

HARDWARE | 

437 

8S14Memory 

IBM Corp 

33 

446 

Expansion Kit 

Hi^ 

Logitech 

51 

432 

Numerikeys 

Genest Technotogies Inc. 

54 

LANOUAOES 1 

452 

C-Scape 

The Oakland Group 

« 1 


READER 

SERVES 


NUMBER PRODUCT 

COMPANY 

PAGE 

MASMTORAQE DEVICES 

699 

ISI525WC 

Information Storage Inc. 

201 

698 

Maximum Storage 

Maximum Storage Inc. 

207 

697 

Micro Design 

kticro Design Laser 

210 


B«)k800 

International Inc. 


695 

N/Hance 525 Opbeal Disk Symphony Systems 

222 


System 

Inc. 


696 

OplotochS9e4 

Optotechinc. 

216 

MONITORS 

694 

AmdekMon(tor/1280 

AmdekCorp. 

151 

438 

Color Display 851 4 

IBMCorp. 

33 

693 

ConoVision2800 

Conogra^icCorp. 

154 

692 

Cornerstone Viste 

Cornerstone 

162 


1600 

Technology Inc. 


691 

MDS Genius 

Micro Oi^ilay Systems Inc. 

168 

663 

MomtermlAkingl 

Moniterm Ccirp. 

17? 

682 

Moniterm Vikina Portrait 

Moniterm Corp. 

172 

690 

NEC MonoGraph 

NEC Home Eledroracs 

177 



(US/UInc. 


669 

NEC Multisync GS 

NEC Home Electronics 

177 



(USA) Inc. 


688 

Princeton LM-300 

Prtoc^ Graphic Systems 

184 

667 

Princeton LM-301 

Princeton Graphic Systems 

184 

686 

Sigma LaserViewnus 

Sigma Designs Inc 

187 

685 

Taan Crystal View 

Taxan USA Corp. 

188 

684 

Thomson 9e0W 

Thomson Infomotion 

196 



Systems Corp. 


694 

WyseWY-700 

Wyse Technology 

151 

PRINTERS 

454 

IBM Personal 

IBMCorp 

34 


Pageprinter 



SOFTWARE 

453 

6 nef 2.01 

Solution Systems 

43 

444 

MalrixPloner 

Insight Devetopment Corp. 

51 

456 

Windows on the World 

Geovision 

48 


Daily Wheel 
FileScan 
free Space 
MouseMenus for 
WordPer^ 
Professional Wheel 
Sclent Wheel 


Dalininc 

Panther Associates 
Ashton-Tale 
MouseMenus Inc. 

Oabnlnc. 

DaHnlnc 


XACT-16C Programmer CalcTech 


PRODUCTIVITY 


DffARTIIIIBIT 


PROGRAM NAMEDESCRfPTKW 


PC Lap Notes 

UbbiKS 

Environments 
Power Programming 
Spreadsheet Qinic 
Spreadsheet CkrK 
Spreadsheet Chntc 
Spreadsheet Clime 
User-to^Jser 
User-to-User 
User-to-User 
PoumrUser 
PmverUser 
Power User 
Power User 
Power User 
Languages 
Langua^ 
Langua^ 
Langua^ 

PC Tutor 
PC Tutor 
PC Tutor 
PC Tutor 

Connectivity dine 
ConnactlvSyCNnic 
Connsctivily Qinic 
ConnectMtyOinc 


Custom designing fonts to be downloaded to HP LaserJet printers 
Pop-up CALC does arithmetic and logicai operations in m^ number bases 
Pmbl^ vrith using 0&2 threads si C programs and C Ubt^ functions. 
Using C'soutpirtfornriaRirigfunction. pnntl. InCandlilA^mode. 
Widening a 1-2*3 column just enough to display the longest label in ful. 

1 -2-3 $ @AVG function is vrrong If labets as well as vahies are in range. 
Routine gnres you seiwal seconds to prevent execution of autoexec macro . 
Macro adds bocfc-deleting features to 1 -2-3 . 

ONCL outputs numbers fim command line tor input or escape sequences 
Batch Mes that eumnate GOTOs «men branching to other batch Mes 
HOME BAT easdy returns to preset subdiiectory or switches to a new one. 


Redefining kefi in Supert^ to turn offteatures in WordStar and 1-2-3 
Viewing and editing footnotes together on one screen In WordPerfect. 

BASIC and assemoler subroutines to create a rotating prompt message 
BYTES C pipes DIR hsPngs to gel total size ot all files to a directoiy. 

Speeding Turbo Pascal code by changing order of expressions or upgrading 
warning againsItorM an exit from afoR loop in Turbo Pascal code. 

LPTi d^nahons DOS assigns to combinations of parallel port devices. 
Combi nioons of multiple monitors and boards that wdl and win not work 
Batch Nes can use DSKR^Y.COM to check If a disk drive is ready. 

Printtrs sometimes mistake the Se In ANSI prompts for Escape sequences. 
Transferring packed EBCDIC data from an IBM Systonv36 mtnt to a PC 
IBM Doctor's Office Manager costs less with IBM Network Baseband Adapter 
Probtems with booting Novell file servers wrkh DOS 3.2 and 3.3. 

New update of IBM 's PC LAN Program prevents unnecessary form feeds 


239 

257 

283 

297 

303 

303 

304 

305 

307 

308 

310 

311 

311 

312 
312 
312 

315 

316 

317 
317 
321 

321 

322 

323 
325 

325 

326 
328 


Coming UP 

INEXPENSIVE DTP All businesses 
publish everything from newsletters to 
presentations to letters. So it's not surpris- 
ing that a wide variety of desktop publish- 
ing packages — which help people get the 
job done faster, smarter, and better (with- 
out any need for T squares, scissots. or 
glue)— have found a market. Lately, the 
market has been besieged by low-cost 
pixxiucts promising professional results at 
a savings of both time and money. We re- 
view six of these $80-u>$500 packages, 
including Hyline. GEM Desktop Publish- 
er. and PFS:Firsl Ptihli.sher, to find out 
whether it's possible to get more than you 
paid for. 

OS/2: THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE 

Four years after the arrival of the AT, we 
finally have an operating system that can 
take full advantage of it. At long last OS/2 
is here! And it has the potential to spur pro- 
grammers on to create whole new breeds 
of application software for the PC. Charles 
Pctzold examines this system for what it is 
now. what it does, and what it will become 
(including a peck at scheduled upgrades 
such as the Presentation Manager). 

PROJECT DATABASE The first Pro- 
ject Database in 1984 was the granddaddy 
of all of PC Magazine's special “bl<x;k- 
bustcr” projects. Here we return for Pro- 
ject Database 3. Our database coverage is 
spread out over three issues — beginning 
with fiat-file database management pro- 
grams. followed by relational packages, 
then by relational products that arc also 
programmable. In Part I of our series, we 
size up 24 flat-file databases to see how so- 
phisticated and easy to use they really arc, 
and whether the gap between these prod- 
ucts and high-end relational programs has 
narrowed. 

386 POWER FOR YOUR XT Before 
you scrap your trusty old XT and go .shop- 
ping for a hot. new 80386-bascd PC, con- 
sider the 386 accelerator card option. 
Winn L. Rosch examines cards torn Ap- 
plied Rea-soning, Intel, and Quadram that 
breathe new life into your old machine for 
under $ 1 ,600. 


PC MAGAZ INK ■ MARCH2 9, 19«» 
.t6S 




1 ; t ; 

>H AwERTISERS PRODUCT INDEX 


RS» ADVERTISER PRODUCT PACE* 

ACCOUNTINO SOFTWARE 

1 94 Cougar MT Software Accounting Software 193 

220 DAC Software DAC Easy Light 69 

358 Peachtree Software PDQ-2 101 

744 Viewpoint Software Check Mate 109 

DESK TOP OHOANIZERS 

• Micro Logic Corp. Tornado 223 

DATABASE MANAGERS 

137 Borland International Paradox 55 

494 Buttonware PCRIe 327 

248 Canterbury International Nutshell Plus 161 

112 Fox Software Inc. Fox Base Software 64 

361 Information Builders PC Focus 273 

366 Microhm R-Base 254-255 

* Oracle Database Manager 14 

145 PC Sig Software Products 313 

282 Personics Corp AT Base 63 

331 Reference Software Reference File 285 

529 The Public (Software) Library S/W By The Public S/W Library . 21 

FILE SYSTEMS A ACCESS METHODS 

302 Micro Com Systems Mulbfuhcbon Public Domain SAIV16 

1 45 PC Sig Software Products 313 

529 The Public (Software) Library RIe Systems 8 Access Methods . 21 


FINANCIAL PLANNING SOFTWARE 


Tornado 223 


Paradox 55 

PCRIe 327 

Nutshell Plus 161 

Fox Base Software 64 

PC Focus 273 

R-Base 254-255 

Database Manager 14 

Software Products 313 

AT Base 63 

Reference File 285 

SAN By The Public SAN Library.. 21 


■ Intuit Software 

145 PC SIG 

INFORMATION MANAGERS 

302 Micro Com Systems 
I Micro Logic Corp. 

INTEGRATED SOFTWARE 

324 Ashton Tale 

• Lotus 

363 Software Group. The 

LANGUAGES 

377 Boriand International 
360 Crescent Software 
357 Mark Williams 

■ Microsoft 

• Microsoft 

• Microway 


OPERATING SYSTEMS/ENVIRONMENTS 


485 

Micrografx 

Designer 

333 

Softlogic Solutions 

Software Carousel 

334 

394 

Softlogic Solutions 

Software Link. Inc 

Disk Optimizer.... 
PC-MOS/386 


PROGRAM DEVELOPERS/GENERATORS 


360 Crescent Software 


PROJECT MANAGEMENT 

* Instaplan 

Proj & Presentation Mgmt Sys. . 87 

UTILITIES 



1 55 Central Point Software 

1 20 Central Point Software 

1 60 Central Point Software 

750 Chicomy American 

283 Departmental Technologies. Inc 

286 Fifth Generabon 

323 Funk Software 

318 Funk Software 

369 Golden Bow Systems 

105 M/H Group. Inc. 


302 Micro Com S^tems 

• Micro Logic Corp. 

749 On Track Computer Systems 

489 Personal Computer Support 

483 Personal Computer Support 

• Personics Corp 

• Ouaid Software Ltd 

723 Oume 


nso UVERTISEn 

331 Reterence Software 

290 Rose Electronics 

168 Software Directions 

■ Transecsyslems. Inc. 

223 Traveling Software 

■ Westlake Data Corp 

309 White Crane Systems 


Reference File 285 

Passport 301 

Print Q 79 

Unlock 324 

Laplink 326 

PC Fullback 192 

Brooklyn Bridge 28 


WORD PROCESSING SOFTWARE/AIDS 


Quicken 47 

Software Products 313 


Multituriction Public Domain S/W16 
Tornado 223 


Framework 212-213 

Symphony 144-145 

Enable 107 

Eureka 57 

Quick Pac 320 

C Compiler 207 

QuickC 288 

Quick Basic 219 

Fortran Compiler 296 


Quick Pac 320 


Copy II PC 301 

PC Tools Deluxe 18 

Copy II PC Deluxe Dption Board . 19 

Ublity 174 

Software Utility 253 

Utilities 39 

Worksheet Utilities 119 

Sideways 121 

V-DPT 4 

Word Processing Conversion 

S/W 290 

Automenu 327 

Multifunction Public Domain SAVI 6 

Tornado 223 

Utilities 345 

Breakthru 10 

Lucid 11-13 

See More 305 

Disk Explorer 290 

Qume Soft Fonts 310 


743 Digital Research 

302 Micro Com Systems 

■ Microsoft 

• Microsoft 

■ Microsoft 

479 Rightsoft. Inc. 

334 Softlogic Solutions 

316 Zylab Corporation 

SPREADSHEET/TEMPLATES 
138 Borland International 

281 Computer Associates 

323 Funk Software 

318 Funk Software 

145 PC Sig 

• Personics Corp 

529 The Public (Software) Libra 


DESK TOP PUBLISHING 

299 SWFTE International. Ltd 

504 Taxan 

259 The Laser Connectioh 

TAX SOFTWARE 

336 Chipsoft 

VERTICAL MARKET SOFTWARE 

364 Biblesoft 

EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE 

250 AD Lib 

ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE 

250 Ad Lib 

DISK BACKUP A TAPE DRIVES 

378 Iomega Corporation 

495 Maynard Electronics 

167 Racore 

■ Sysgen Inc 
HARD DISKS 

225 Core International 

308 Magee Enterprises 

144 Seagate 

161 Storage Dimensions/Maxtor 

COMPUTERS/COMPATIBLES 

177 Acer Technologies 

1 66 American Research Corp . 

124 AST Research 

195 Avnet Computer Technologies 

296 B.S.I. 

• Bentley Computers 

481 Bull Dog Computer Products 

505 Club AT 

■ Compu Add 

291 Dataworid 

386 Five Star Electronics. Inc. 

‘ Intelligent Microsystems 

• Lifetime Memory Products 

298 Samsung 

306 Samsung Electronic Devices 

• Toshiba 

731 Ven Dex 

329 Vertex Systems 

515 Wells American 

528 Whole Earth Computer 


FirsI Word Plus 139 

Multifunction Pub Domain S/W. 16 

Press 141 

Press 143 

Word4.0 C5-7 

Rightwriter 78 

Disk Oplimizer 42 

Word Processing Text Retreival 149 

Duattro C2-4, pi 

Silverado 256 

Worksheet Utilities 119 

Sideways 121 

Software Products 313 

See More 305 

SoreadsheetTemolates 


Glyphix 37 

Desktop Publishing 183 

Jet Script 5 


Tax Package 190 

Search The Scriptures 345 

Music Software 375 

Music Software 375 

Bemouilli Box It 236 

Tape Back Up 211 

PCjr. Drive Two Plus 252 

Tape Backup System 153 


Core Power 209 

Automenu 327 

Disk Drives 237 

Optical/Hard Disks 215 

PC 74-75 

PC 105 

PC 217 

Computers 142 

PC 166 


Compatible 220-221 

Computers and Accessories ... 31 8- 
319 

Disktop Computers 88-89 

Compatibles 247 

PC 306 

PC Compatibles 178-179 

Compatible 286-287 

Compatible 293 

AT/XT Compatibles Ill 

PC Monitors 146 

T1000 140 

PC 225 

PC 238 

A Star 17 

Mail Order 295 


INPUT DEVICES 

148 Kuritweil Computer Products Inc Scanner 171 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
,V>6 



READER 


SERVICE 


C A R 



INFORMATION 


Fill in your nomeond-o^ 
dresj ond check oH yoa 
onswer? to the four re- 
seorch questions. (One 
cord per person^ pleose.) 


Orde the numbers on the cord 
t^ correspond to the ods or 
arHdes you'd Hre more infor- 
mation obout. (Numbers for 
odvertised products ore re- 
peoted in the A<tvertiser Index 
os well.] 


r The literoture will be 
I moiled to you from the 
I odvertiser free of 
charge. 


CIRCLE FOR FREE INFORMATION VoWoft^Jur. 3^1988 

lot inmiottos 106107 108 109 110111 112 113 114 113:16117 IIS' 131 123 IS in 126 127 >912913013} 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 U1 142 143 144 US 146 147 148 149 ISO 
151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 U? 168 169 173 *r '72 173174 175 176 177 m i/'9 180 181 182 >83 184 185 186 187 Itt 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 t992Q|! 

201 202 203 304 205 20e287 268 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 21? 218 219 220 221 223 J2J2N7ZZZ6 227 728779 230 231 233 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 248 241 242 243 344 245 246 247 248 249 250 

252 253 254 2 55 ^ 257 2 58 BHee 26176 2 263 264 265 26 6 267 268 289 27Sri 272 77; 774;n 276277 278 279 183 28: 2fl2 2 83 28 4285 286 287 288 280 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 380 
301 302303304 305 306307 306 309 310311 312313 314 315 316 317318319320321 322 323324 325326327328 329330331 332 333334 335 336337338339340341 342 343344 345 346 347 346 349 350 

351 352353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373374 375376377378 379380381 382383384 385 386 387386 389390391 392 393394 395 396397 396 399 400 

401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 41 1 412 413414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 

451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 460 481 482 483 484 485 436 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 

#I'S9f sob m sio SH 512 513 su jis slsr? 5I8 srar52r555 S27 < 21 529 3» S31 532 533 534 05 536 537 538 5^ 540 $41 542 S43 544 545 546 547 54 549 550 

A51 B3 554 515 38557 a 559 560 561 562 563 564 56S 566 567 568 569 5:9 57' 572 5^3 574 $;« 57: STB » SaO 581 582 513 584 565 586 587 Se 589 599 5ft S92 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 

60t6n6»^i86tt660768l689 61061Ut26]36l46156t66I76186l?62C62I6^tf^^62S^^^a29 630 63l632 633 634 635 636 637 63l6964064l 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 6M, 
651 ^2 653d54 665 656 6S7g8 6S96tf 661 ^62 668 664 665 6 6ft 66? 668 669 6£3 681 tB cB 6i4 685 686 687618689 690 691 6926936 94 69S 69 6 697 698 699 781] 


701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 
751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 
801 802 803 804 805 606 807 808 809 810811 612 813 814 815 816 617 816 819 820 821 822 823 824 825 826 827 628 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 845 846 847 848 849 650 
851 852 853 854 655 856 857 858 859 860 861 862 863 864 865 866 867 868 869 870 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 679 880 881 882 883 684 885 886 887 868 689 890 891 892 893 694 895 896 897 898 699 900 

1. In which of tho foHowiny 


sfctert dots your orgonixo* 
Hon oporoto? (Chock ono.) 

0 . □ Private Industry 
b. □Government 
c □ Education 

2. Your primory job function is 
(chock ono): 

d. □ MIS7DP, CommunicaHons 

Systems, Prooomming 

e. □ Engineering/R&D 

f. □ Fin^e/Accounting 
9 . □ Morketing/Sdes 

h. □ Administrative/Generol 
Monogement 


3. Is your compony o reseller? 6. Does your cempony own 

i. □ Yes r. □ Moinfrome{$) 

j. GNo s. DMinils) 

4. For hew mony IBM PC's and 7. Do you plan to to buy 
compotibits do you specify t. GNow 
brorMis of products? 


PLEASE PRINT CIEARLY-Hjse only one card per person 


PC3/29-2 


k. GlOorless 

l. □ 11-25 

m. □ 26-100 

n. □ lOOormore 

5. Are any PC's in your 
office? 

0 . □ Lmked to motnfrome 

p. □ linked to mini 

q. □ Networked together 


Gin 4 to 6 months 
V. □ In 6 to 12 months 

w. □ No definite plons 

8. Number of employtos in 
your ontirt company? 

x. □25orless 
y 026-99 

2 . □ 100-499 
I □500-999 
2 . □ 1000 or more 


Business Phone ( 

1 




Apt 



Stntp 

Sp . . 


(Zrp code m«nl be lociubed lo insure delivery) 

□ Please send me one year (22 Issues) of PC Mogoiin# (or $29.97 ond biD 
me. I'll sove 54% on the newsstond price of $64.90. (Annuo) bosk 
subscription prkt b $39.97.) Offer valid in U.S. ond possessions only. 


CIRCLE FOR FREE INFORMATION 

ioi 102 H8 tbi las t06 107 TOI 109110 1 1 1 
151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 1$9 160 161 
20119n«8»i m 206 207 206 209 210 2P 
2S1 2S2 253254255 2S6 297 aUSIM261 
301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310311 
351 352 353 354 355 356 357 356 359 360 361 
401 402 403 404 405 406 407 406 409 410 411 
451 452 453 4^5 5 456 457 458 459 460 461 
501 502 503 504 505 506 ^ 508 SiO 51 1 
551 5S2 553 S54 SSS 556 Sy $58 559 560 561 
601 MS 6^ 604 605 6« 60 ? 601 tfl M061 1 
651 652 663664655 656 657 658 659 660 661 
701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710711 
751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 
801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 609 810811 
851 852 853 854 855 856 857 858 859 860 861 

1. In whkh of the following 
seders dees your orgonixo* 
lion eporetf? (Chock one.) 

0 . □ Private Industry 
b. □ Government 
c □ Education 

2. Your primory job function is 
(chock ono): 

d. □ MiS/DP, Communicotions 

Systems, Programming 

e. G Engirteering^&D 

f. G Rnonce/Accounting 

g. G Morketing/Soies 

h. □ Administrative/Generd 

Monogement 


112113114115116 n7’18H9 120121 
162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 
212213214 215 316217218219 220 221 
262263 264 265 266 267 268 269270271 
312 313314 315316317318319 320 321 
362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 
412 413414 415 416417418419 430 421 
462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 4^ 
5125)3514 515516517518 519 
562 563 $64 565 566 567 568 569 S7Q $? 1 
612613 614 615 6U 617 616 619 620 621 
662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 
712713714 715716717718 719 720721 
762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 
812 813 814 815 816 817 818 B19 B30 821 

862 863 864 865 866 867 868 869 870 871 


132 123 124 IS 126 127 128 129 136 131 132 133 134 '.35 136 137 138 139 140 U1 
1/2 -73 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 
222 223 S4 225 726 227 228 229 230 231 732 233 234 235 236 237 338 739 240 24) 
272273 274^ 276 277 278 279^ 381 283 383 384 285 286 787 288 289 290 291 
322323324 325 326327328 329 330331 332333334 335336337 33833934034) 
372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 
422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 U1 
472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 
527 5^S» 531 a2 533 534 535 53* $37 531 SS^SiO 541 

$72 5?3y4 575 576 577 578 $79 580 581 583 583 584 585 586 587 588 50 590 591 
622 623 62« 67$625 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 £40 641 
672 673 674 675 676 677 678 6/9 6» 661 682 683 684 685 686 68? 688 689 690 691 
722 723724 725726727728729730 731 732733734 735736 737 738 739740741 
772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 7B1 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 
622 823 624 625 626 827 628 829 830 B31 832 833 834 635 836 837 838 839 840 841 
S72 873 674 875 676 877 878 879 880 881 682 883 884 685 886 887 888 889 890 891 


Vod after Jurw ^1986 
142 143 ) 44 (45 146 147 148 149 150 
192 193 194 ) 95 196 197 198 199 200 
242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 
292 293 294 295 796 297 298 299 
342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 
392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 
442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 
492 493 494 49|^96jlW 498 499 500 
M2 544 545 5^ 547 548 549~ 5M 
592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 
642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 
69? 693 694 695 6»6 697 698 699 TOO 
742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 
792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 
842 843 844 845 846 847 848 849 850 
892 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 900 


3. Is your company a rtstllor? 

I □ Yes 

|. □ No 

4. For how many IBM PC's ond 
compotiblos do you specify 
brands of preduds? 

k. □ 10 orle« 

(. □ 11-25 

m. □ 26-100 

n. G 100 or more 

5. Are any PC's in your 
effkt? 

0 . □ Linked to moinfrome 

p. □ Linked to mini 

q. □ Networked together 


6. Does your company own 

r. □ Mainfrome(sj 

s. □ Mini(s) 

7. Do you plan to to buy 
f. □ Now 

u. □ In 4 to 6 months 
V. □ In 6 to 12 months 
w. □ No definite pbns 

8. Number of employtos in 
your ontirt compony? 

X. □25orles$ 
y. 026-99 
2 . □100-499 

1. 0500-999 

2 . 0 1000 or more 


PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY— use only one cord per person 
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182 Logitech Logitech-House 81 

350 Mouse Systems PC Mouse 169 

280 Numonics Mouse ...282 

PHOOHAMMEBS TOOLS UTILITIES 

360 Crescent Software Quick PAC 320 

488 Software Masters Programmers Toois 68 

MULTIFUNCTION BOARDS 

158 Computer Peripherals Inc Add In Boards 2-3 

ADD-ON BOARDS 

158 Computer Peripherals Inc Add In Boards 2-3 

514 Monolithic Systems JustRam 269 

181 QuadtamCorp. Fax Boards 58 

ECANNERSDIOITIZERS 

385 Pest Corp PC Scanner 194-195 


PRINTERS 

328 Buffalo Products 

114 Citizen America Printer 

747 Destiny Technology 

339 Hewlett Packard-Peripheral Gro 

342 Hewlett Packard-Peripheral Gro 

722 Oasys 

129 Output Technology 

178 The Laser Connection 

• Toshiba 

PRINTER ACCESSORIES 


286 Fifth Generation Printer Sharing & Utilities 39 

272 Kensington Microware LTD. Printer Accessories 181 

290 Rose Electronics Porter 301 

290 Rose Electronics Masterswitch 301 


PORTABLE/LAP COMPUTERS 

313 Datavue Snapl+1 135 

223 Traveling Software Laplink 326 

222 Travelino Software Desklink 275 

DISPLAYSmiONITORS/TEBMINATORS 

279 Intecolor, Inc. Megatrend II 159 

306 Samsung Electronic Devices PC Monitors 146 

504 Taxan Monitors 183 

734 WYSE Technology WY700 Monitor 124-125 

373 Zenith Data Systems Monitors 176 


QRAPWICS SOFTWARE 

233 Computer Support Corporation Picture Perfect 112 

360 Crescent Soflware QuickPAC 320 

201 Haventree Software Flowcharts 289 

343 Hewlett-Packard PS Graphics Gallery 137 

■ Microsoft Windows C8 

• Software Publishing Harvard Graphics 175 


VIDEO GRAPHICSfBOARDS 

117 Ahead Systems FGA Wizard Deluxe 160 

1 58 Computer Peripherals Inc Add In Boards 2-3 


ACCELERATOR BOARDS 

158 Computer Peripherals Inc Add In Boards 2-3 

489 Personal Computer Support Breakthru 10 


COMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE 


186 Data Storm Technologies Inc 

278 DCA/Crosstalk Communications 

‘ Meridian Technology 

290 Rose Electronics 

478 Softkione 

223 Traveling Software 

222 Traveling Software 

379 Western Union Corp 

309 White Crane Systems 

LOCAL AREA NETWORKING 


238 3COM Local Area Network 231 

345 Alloy Computer Products PC Plus 32 

■ AT&T Information Systems Starian 90-91 

328 Buffalo Products SX Peripheral Sharing Device... 185 

531 DCAffOX FOX'LAN 30-31 

361 Information Builders PC Focus 273 

103 Novell Inc. Netware 155-157 

290 Rose Electronics Masterswitch 301 

128 Server Technology EasyLAN 322 

393 Software Link, Inc Lanlink 5X 50 


Communications Software 198 

Mark IV 70 

Carbon Copy Plus 103 

Passport 301 

Mirror II 86 

Laplink 326 

Desklink 275 

EZUnk 233 

Brooklyn Bridge 28 


SX Peripheral Sharing Device ... 1 85 


Printer 9 

Printer Enhancement-Laser Actl265 

Plotter 249 

Drafting Plotter Family 251 

Printer Laser Pro 276 

Print Net 29 

Jet Script 5 

Printer 351 SX 278 


flS' 

ADVERTISER PRODUCT 


PAGE" 

141 

Torus Systems. Inc. 

Tapestry 8 

129 

MICRO-MAINFRAME LINKS 

532 

DCA 

MAC Irma 

82-83 

MODEMS 

235 

Okidata 

Modem 

236 

231 

Touchbase Systems 

Modem 

92 

DISKETTES 

347 

BASF 

5'/4 Diskettes 

131 

258 

Buick Motor Division 

Diskettes 

165 

232 

Maxell 

Diskettes 

76 

POWER PROTECTION 

739 

Safe Power Systems 

Power Supply 

177 

MAILORDER 

106 

707 Computers Sales 

Mail Order 

334 

• 

Arlington Computer Products 

Mail Order 

... 340-341 

• 

Bay Express 

Mail Order 

343 

• 

Bentley Computers 

Mail Order 

.. 220-221 

125 

Boffin Limited 

Mail Order 

281 

461 

Bull Dog Computer Products 

Computers & Accessories 318-319 


Compu Add 

Mail Order 

... 243-247 

205 

Compuclassics 

Mail Order 

302 

109 

Computer Discount Warehouse 

Mail Order 

338 

183 

Computer Mail Order 

Mailorder 

... 270-271 

229 

Discount Micro Products 

Mail Order 

60-61 

367 

Durable Solutions Inc. 

Mailorder 

343 

262 

GMC 

Mail Order 

343 

287 

Hub Disk Computer Products. In 

Mail Order 

168 

253 

IBM Direct Marketing 

Catelog Hard/Soft 

280 

346 

Jameco Electronics 

Mailorder 

330 

108 

JOB Micro Devices 

Mail Order 

... 332-333 

387 

MHI Warehouse 

Mail Order 

337 


MICROBEST 

Mail Order 

331 

240 

Northgate Computer Systems 

Mail Order 

335 

1/5 

On Line Store 

Mail Order 

336 

310 

PC Brand 

Mail Order 

22-26 

• 

PC Connection 

Mail Order 

... 202-205 

202 

PC Home 

Mail Order 

226 

354 

PC Network (Formerly Imt) 

Mail Order 

339 

355 

PC Pitstop 

Mailorder 

336 

255 

Pine Computer 

Mall Order 

342 

122 

QIC Research 

Mailorder 

189 

123 

Silicon Specialties 

Mail Order 

80 

• 

Softline 

Mail Order 

84 

206 

Telemart 

Mailorder 

44-45 

512 

The Computer Warehouse 

Mail Order 

337 

268 

Tussey Computer Products 

Mail Order 

66-67 

1/1 

Warehouse Data Products 

Mail Order 

52-53 

528 

Whole Earth Computer 

Mail Order 

295 

ON LINE DATABASES 

330 

Dialog Information Services 

Business Connection... 

314 


The Source 

The Source 

191 

UNIX PRODUCTS 

245 

Santa Cruz Operation. Inc. 

Unix Solutions 

72 


DIRECT MARKETING CONNECTION 


106 

707 Computer Sales 

Mail Order 

334 


Arlington Computer Products 

Mail Order 

... 340-341 


Bay Express 

Mailorder 

343 

109 

Computer Discount Warehouse 

Mail Order 

338 

367 

Durable Solutions Inc. 

Mail Order 

343 

262 

GMC 

Mailorder 

343 

346 

Jameco Electronics 

Mail Order 

330 

108 

JDR Micro Devices 

Mail Order 

... 332-333 

387 

MHI Warehouse 

Mail Order 

337 


MICROBEST 

Mailorder 

331 

240 

Northgate Computer Systems 

Mailorder 

335 

175 

On Line Store 

Mailorder 

336 

354 

PC Network 

Mail Order 

339 

355 

PC Pitstop 

Mailorder 

336 

25b 

Pine Computer 

Mailorder 

342 

512 

The Computer Warehouse 

Mailorder 

337 

MARKETPLACE 

384 

Biblesoft 

Search the Scriptures .. 

345 

749 

On Track Computer Systems 

utilities 

345 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
369 



After Hours 



RELIGION 


I 


Bible Studies: Two 
Pngrams That Can 
Help Find the 
Answers 


BY DONALD B. TRIVETTE 

The King James Version of the 
Bible is (he most widely read 
and studied Christian text in his- 
tory. In addition to countless 
printed editions in scores of lan- 
guages. the King James Version 
has made its way into half a doz- 
en electronic editions available 
for the IBM personal computer. 
Two of these are God Speed, by 
Kingdom Age Software, and 
Bookmaster Bible, by Book- 
master Corp. 

God Speed can find any 
word or phrase in the 66 books 
of the Bible in less than 3 sec- 
onds. Compare that with as long 
as 30 minutes for some pro- 
grams. It's distributed on seven 
S'/4'inch floppy disks and re- 
quires a hard disk, although a 
$27 New-Testament-only ver- 
sion can be run from a floppy- 
disk-based system. The installa- 
tion procedure copies (he data to 
a hard disk and compresses the 
4.3 million bytes of text in the 
King James Bible to one rela- 
tively compact 2.4MB file. 

The key to God Speed's 


speed is its custom indexing 
scheme designed specifically 
for the Bible. Since the index is 
integrated with the data, there is 
no delay in loading additional 
files, and the first search may be 
made within seconds of loading 
(he program. But (his method 
trades precision for speed, and 
words are located only within 
verse boundaries. For example, 
type the phrase “eye for an 
eye." and God Speed finds two 
occurrences. The first is Mat- 
thew chapter 5. verse 38, and is 
indeed the familiar quotation: 
“An eye for an eye. and a tooth 
for a tooth." The second occur- 
rence is in 1 Corinthians 15:52; 
it's not the quotation we had in 
mind, but it does happen to con- 
tain the three words “eye,” 
“for." and “an" in a different 
order than we had specified. 

The Map command pro- 
duces a distribution and occur- 
rence table for any word or 
phrase. The word “love." for 
example, occurs 310 times in 
280 verses. It appears 23 times 
in Psalms, 23 limes in Solomon, 
and 23 times in 1 John. 

God Speed has the simplest 
user interface of any program 
I've tested. A menu bar across 
the top of the screen presents 
four choices: Help, Find. Map, 
and Exit. Press F for Find and 
then type the word or phrase. 
The verses appear almost in- 
stantly with the search words 
highlighted in blue, and the 
words of Jesus displayed in red 


Bookmaster 
Bible Asia 
Hide variety 
search modes 
that enable the 
user to zero in 
onspecific 
quotations. 
Coioifiilhelp 
cards can be 
poppedupat 
anvtime. 



n MW MNN iMt It Mta Me* Mii. An eyi tor *• 

» tooth for « tooth: 

39 kit I M<f «Rto voa, That *0 rositt not ovil: hut Hho«ae««f 
than mIU Umi on thv rl|ht chonk, turn to hin tht oUw alto 
t$ Aiul ir any nan win mo then at the law. anl Uke a<aai| thf 
CMt. Int hin ha«n thu cloak aino. 


Ik'lf TinH H«|> fXil t i PgUr P^Dn li>s En-I 

an“ occurs in 2 vertet. 


in a nownt, in the twinkling ol ■ . . at the latt trun|i: fut the 

tniniwl shall tound. and the dead shall be raised Incomptlhle. 
and we shall he changed. 


(}od .Spcctl’j 
interface is ex- 
iremeh sim- 
ple. AIiIuiukH 
laikinn preci- 
sion m specify- 
inji search 
terms, it does 
not usually 
cause prob- 
lems 


if that option was selected when 
God Speed was loaded. Even 
Methuselah wouldn't have dif- 
ficulty running this program. 

Bookmaster Bible is distrib- 
uted on six disks. Because it 
uses a separate file for the index 
as well as for each book of the 
Bible, it may be run from a flop- 
py-disk-based computer, al- 
though performance is signifi- 
cantly degraded. Even when run 
from a hard disk, it takes 30 sec- 
onds for Bookmaster to read the 
162,000-byte index file into 
memory before the program can 
begin. 

Bookmaster is the flip side of 
the coin: it trades speed for pre- 
cision. Enter the phrase “eye 
for an eye." and the software 
locates just the one occurrence, 
in Matthew 5:38; but it takes 5 
minutes to slog its way through 
36,000 lines of text on an IBM 
PS/2 Model 30. Searching fora 
single word is considerably fast- 
er and more entertaining. Type 
“eye." for example, and a table 
is displayed on (he right side of 
the screen showing that “eye" 
appears 1 16 times, “eye- 
brows" once, “eyelids” 6 
times, and so forth. 

A full range of search op- 
tions may be used, including 
multiple search terms, ca.se-sen- 
sitive terms, words, phrases, 
and words within proximity of 
other words. The scholarly user 
is able to insert and retain foot- 
notes and annotations within the 
text; searches may then be con- 
ducted on the Bible, the foot- 


notes. or the merged text. 

With all these features, 
you'd think Bookmaster would 
have a thick manual filled with 
examples. It doesn't. The 25- 
page pamphlet does little more 
than explain the uses of the 
function, alternate, and control 
keys. With software as sophisti- 
cated as Bookmaster. that's a 
near-fatal flaw. Even Solomon 
would be puzzled. 

Of course, search software is 
only as good as its data, and nei- 
ther God Speed nor Bookmaster 
includes the Apocrypha in its 
text. The Apocrypha are an ad- 
ditional 14 or 15 books (hat 
were included in the original 
King James Bible as an appen- 
dix. Although few of today's 
printed Bibles contain (he miss- 
ing books, they are historically 
important and should be includ- 
ed in any product aimed at 
scholars and theologians. 

List Price: God Speed. $100. 
Requires: 256K RAM. hard disk 
drive with 2.5MB free, DOS 2. 1 or 
later. Not copy protected. Kingdom 
Age Software. 3368 Governor Dr. . 
Suite F-197. San Diego, CA 92122; 
(619)586-1082. 


CIRCLE 666 ON READER SERVICE CARD 

List Price: Bookmaster Bible. 
$295. Requires: 640K RAM. hard 
disk drive with 2MB free recom- 
mended, DOS 2. 1 or later. Not copy 
protected. Bookmaster Corp.. P.O. 
Box 2396, Telluride. CO 81435; 
(619)247-5183. 


CIRCLE 667 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
370 



Index TO ADVERTISERS 


RS# 

ADVERTISERS 

PAGE 

RS# 

ADVERTISERS 

PAGE 

RS# 

ADVERTISERS 

PAGE 

RS# 

ADVERTISERS 

PAGE 

238 

3 Com 

231 

186 

Data Storm 

198 

387 

MHI Warehouse 

337 

245 

Santa Crua 

72 

1Ub 

707 Sales 

334 

291 

Data World 

306 


MICROBEST 

331 

144 


237 

177 

Acer Technologies . 

74-75 

313 


135 

302 


16 

128 


322 

250 

Ad Lib 

375 

532 

DCA 

82-83 



223 

123 


80 

117 


160 

531 


30 31 

485 


20 

478 


86 

345 

Alloy Computer Products .... 32 

283 

Departmental 


366 

Microrim 

254-255 


Softllne 

84 

166 

American Research Corp. .105 


Technologies... 

253 


Microsoft 

C5-8 

333 

Softlogic Solutions... 

49 


Arlington Computer 


385 

Dest Corp 

194-195 


Microsoft 

141 

334 

Sottlogic Solutions .. . 

42 


Products. . 

340-341 

747 

Destiny 

265 



143 

168 


79 

324 

Ashton-Tate 

212-213 

330 

Dialog Information .. 

314 


Microsoft 

219 

394 

Software Link. Inc..., 

99 

124 

AST Research.. 

217 

/43 


139 



288 

393 


50 


AT -f-T Information 


229 

Discount Micro 




296 

488 


68 


Systems 

90-91 


Prpducis 

60-61 

514 

Monolithic Systems. 

269 


Software Publishing . 

175 

195 

Avnet Computer 

142 

367 

D.S.I. Inc 

343 

351) 

Mouse Systems 

169 

161 

storage Dimensions . 

215 

34/ 

B.A.S.F 

131 

286 


39 

240 



299 

SWFtEInfl 

37 

296 

B.S.I 

166 

386 

Fivestar Computer., 

178-179 


Systems .' 

335 


Sysgen. Inc. 

153 

• 


343 

112 


64 



155 

504 


183 

• 

Bentley Computers. 

220-221 

323 

Funk Software 

119 

103 

Novell Inc 

156-157 

206 

Telemart 

44-45 

384 


345 

318 


121 

280 


282 

512 



125 


281 

262 

G.M.C 

343 

722 

0 A S Y S . 

276 



337 

377 

Borland International . 

57 

369 

Golden Bow Systems 

.. .. 4 

235 


236 

259 


5 

138 

Borlarrd International . 

C2-4.1 

201 

HaventreeS.W 

289 

175 

On-Line store 

336 

529 

The Public Software 


137 

Borland International . 

.. 55 

339 

Hewlett-Packard 

249 

749 

On Track Computer . 

345 


Library 

21 

328 

Butfalo Products ... 

185 

342 

Hewlett-Packard.. 

251 


Oracle 

14 

363 

The Sbftware Group.. 

107 

258 

Buick 

163-165 

343 

Hewlett-Packard 

137 

129 

Output Technology .. 

29 

• 

The Source 

191 

481 

Bulldog Computer 


287 

Hub Disk Computer.. 

168 

310 

PC Brand 

22-26 

141 

Torus Systems 

129 


Products 

318-319 

253 

I B M . Direct Marketing 280 


PC Connection 

202-205 


Toshiba 

278 

494 

Buttonware 

327 

361 

Information Builders. 

273 

202 

PC Home 

. 226 

• 

Toshiba 

140 

248 


161 



87 

354 


339 

231 


92 

120 

Central Point Software 

.. 18 

279 

Intecblor 

159 

355 


. 336 



324 

155 

Central Point Softvrare 

381 


Intelligent 


145 

PCSig .. .' 

313 

222 

Traveiinq Software ... 

275 

160 

Central Point Software 

19 


Micrpsystems.. 

286-287 

358 

Peachtree Software . 

1ff1 

223 

Traveling Software .. 

326 

750 

Chicony America . . 

174 


Intuit 

47 

489 

Personal Computer Support 

266 

Tussey Computer .... 

66-67 

336 


190 

378 


236 



10 

731 


225 

114 


9 

346 


330 

483 


329 


238 

505 

Club AT 

88-89 

108 

JOR Micro Devices 

332-333 


Group 

.11-13 

744 

Viewpoint Software . . 

109 


CompuAdd Corp 

243-247 

2/2 

Kensington Microware 

181 


Personics 

305 

171 

Warehouse Data 


205 

Compu Classics 

302 

148 

Kurzwell Computer 


282 

Personics 

63 


Products 

52-53 

281 

Computer Associates 

256 


Products 

171 

255 

Pine Computer 

342 

515 

Wells American 

17 

109 

Computer Discount 



Lifetime Memory 


122 

QIC Research 

189 

379 

Western Union 

233 


Warehouse . 

338 


Products 

293 

189 

Quadram 

58 


Westlake Data 

192 

183 


270-271 

182 


81 



290 

309 


28 

158 

Computer Peripherals Inc. .2-3 


Lotus Development 


723 

Qume Corp 

310 

528 

Whole Earth 


233 

Computer Support 




144 145 

167 


252 



295 



112-114 

105 


290 

331 


285 

734 


124-125 

225 


209 

263 


167 

479 


78 

373 


176 

194 

Cougar Mountain S.W 

193 

308 

Magee Enterprises ... 

327 

290 

Rose Electronics , . 

301 

316 

Zylab Corp 

149 

360 


320 

337 


207 

739 


177 




278 


232 


76 

298 


m 





OCA 

70 

495 

Maynard Electronics . 

211 

306 

Samsung Electronic 


■ — No Reader Service # . Please call 

220 

DAC Software 

69 


Meridan Technology . 

103 


Devices 

146 

advertiser for information. 



PC MAGAZINE ADVERTISING SALES STAFF 

Sr. Advertisina Coordinator. . . Jane L. Gottlieb 
Advertising Coordinator . . . Ursula D. Eckel 
1 Park Avenue. New York. NY 10016(212) 503-5100 


Jantt Ryan • National Atfvorlising Oiraclor 

(212)503-5100 

MA. NH.VT, ME. RI.CT 

Rod Conklin - District Manager 

Sloan Seymour - District Sales Representative 

The Prudential Center 

aOOBoylslonSt .Sie 1390 

Boston. MA 02199 

(617)375-4690 

Vickie Pinsky - Account Representative 
(212)503-5132 

DE. MO. DC. «. WV. NC, SC. AL. MS. TN. 

Afl. KY. PA. GA, a 

Rex Walker - District Manager 

Mary Arlotto - Oistnct Sales Representative 

340o Piedmont Road 

Atlanta. GA 30305 (404) 239-9780 

Paul Klein - Account Representative 

(212)503-5130 


NY. NJ, PA 

Jonathan Lane-Distnct Manager 
(212) 503-5310 

Scott Seiii-Distnct Sales Representative 
[212) 503-5307 

Pat Toohey ■ District Sales Representative 

(212)503-5149 

One Park Avenue 

New York. NY 10016 

MaryJo Neilson • Account Representative 

(212)503-5128 

NE. m, n.. m. mn. mo. oh. mi. ia, no. so. 
Canada 

Jim Stafford - District Manager 
180 N Michigan Avenue Suite 1400 
Chicago. IL 60601 
[312)3^-2600 

Pete Foster-Account Representative 
(212) 503-5126 


CA (San Francisco A North), O. OR, WA. 10 
Debra Silver-District Sales Representative 
IIOMarsh Drive. Suite 103 
Foster C^, CA 94404 

(415) 37^5520 

Mark Crafts - Account Representative 
(212)503-5129 

CA (Santa Barbara to So. San Francisco), WY. 
MT.AK 

Gini Talmadge - Oistnct Manager 
Kathryn Mandahl - District Sales 
Representative 
1 10 Marsh Drive. Suite 103 
Foster City. CA 94404 
(415) 378-5520 

Jennifer Long • Account Representative 
(212)503-5127 


CA (LA. San Olego A Orange County), AZ. NV. 

Debra Huisken • District Manager 
3460Wilshire Blvd. 

Los Angeles, CA 90010 
(213)^7-2100 

Ron kosi • Account Representative 

(212)503-5113 

n. OK. LA, KS,UT,NM.C0 

Stephen Shore • District Manager 

Sandy Shackman • Oistnct Sales 

Representative 

5956 Sher 7 Lane Suite 1 330 

Dallas. TX 75225(214) 691-6934 

Joanna Broome - Account Representative 

(212)503-5104 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
371 



After Hours 




GAMES 


Putting NASA Back 
On Track for Only 
$29.95 


BY JONATHAN MATZKIN 

Things are pretty bad for NASA 
lately. The agency suffers one 
launch di.sastcr after another, 
while the Soviets buz/ merrily 
along with their space station 
program. Some pundits even 
say that Uncle Sam has lost his 
lead in the space race. 

Project: Space Station, from 
Avantage. is intended for arm- 
chair administrators who think 
they could manage America's 
space program back to its 
world-leading role. The game 
simulates the decisions and ac- 
tions involved in creating and 
maintaining a manned U.S. 
space station. You are chal- 
lenged to fund, staff, and man- 
age a program that will pul 
Americans in orbit on an ongo- 
ing basis. 

The heart of Project: Space 
Station is planning. Missions 
can't be conducted without an 
approved plan, and even accept- 
able plans cun go astray. 

You must not only conserve 
the funds that you start out with 
bui also generate income for 
your space program by conduct- 
ing profitable R&D projects in 


space. Among other things, that 
means hiring the appropriate 
personnel, assigning them to 
space shuttle flights, and ac- 
quiring the necessary equip- 
ment to conduct your research. 

The documentation warns 
that a single Project: Space Sta- 
tion game can take days or 
weeks. There are seemingly 
endless details and problems 
that you must cope with on your 
way to a place in the history of 
space travel. 

Which is not to say that Pro- 
ject: Space Station lacks action. 
You design your space station 
on-screen by combining various 
living, working, and support 
modules. The graphics for 
space shuttle launch and landing 
are exciting to watch, though 
your participation is limited to 
simple actions to keep the ship 
on course. 

Project: Space Station's 
most engrossing screen is a rep- 
resentation of the space .station 
in orbit. You can maneuver 
around in small space pods and 
do work outside the station. 
This screen looks a bit like tradi- 
tional arcade games like De- 
Jeiuler or Zax.xon . 

Unfortunately, the docu- 
mentation for Project: Space 
Station is sparse and wcasional- 
ly misleading. In working 
through the extensive tutorials. 
1 .sometimes had to ignore the 
manual to figure out what to do 
next. 

If you prefer an intense, ce- 


rebral game of chess to a quick 
run at Lode Runner, Project: 
Space Station could be just the 
obsession for you. 

List Price: Project: Space Station , 
$29.95. Requires: 256K RAM, 
one disk drive. CGA or Hercules 
graphics adapter. IX)S 2.0 or later. 
Not copy protected. Avantage. 
298I3Slevens Creek Blvd., 
Cupertino, CA 95014; (408)446- 
5757. 


CIRCLE 669 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


^ART& 


LEISURE 


appears without an answer, the 
quote without its author, and the 
word without a definition. If 
you’re stumped, a single key- 
stroke gives you the answer. 
The vocabulary and the trivia 
questions are only medium 
hard, but you’d have to be a 
whiz to guess the authors of 
most of the quotes. 

The program comes with a 
year’s worth of features, but 
you can start using the program 
any day of the year. You can 
page backward through (he cal- 
endar to see features from past 
days, but the program won’t let 
you page forward. After 365 
days the features repeat them- 


A Daily Dose of Wit 
At a Bargain Price 


BY JARED TAYLOR 

Do you like those little calen- 
dars that start your day with a 
quotation or a new vocabulary 
word? Do you enjoy testing 
your wits with trivia questions? 
If you do. Daily Features, by 
Channelmark Corp.. could be 
the program you’d like to .see 
first when you turn your com- 
puter on in the morning. 

You can install Daily Fea- 
tures as a TSR, but the obvious 
way to run it is as a standalone 
from your AUTOEXEC.BAT 
file. Every day of the year, it 
presents you with a quotation, a 
new vocabulary word, and a 
trivia question. To make things 
more fun, the program is a 
knowledge test. The question 


selves. 

Channelmark can supply 
you with new features for a new 
year, or if you like, you can 
make your own. The program 
comes with a utility that con- 
verts ASCII data into databases 
that work just like the ones Dai- 
ly Features comes with. This 
means you can make your own 
lists of questions, vocabulary 
words, daily reminders, or rid- 
dles for your own use or to en- 
tertain others. 

At $14.95. Daily Features 
sets some kind of record for in- 
expensive software. 

List Price: Daily Features. 

$14.95. Requires: 256K RAM. 
one disk drive, DOS 2.0 or later. 
Not copy protected. Channelmark 
Corp. . 2929 Campus Dr. , San 
Mateo. CA 94403; (800) 851-2917, 
(800) 223-l479(in Calif.). 


CIRCLE 666 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9, 1988 
372 








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JUiy 1987-iBM'S PER- 
SONAL SYSTEM/2; 
In-depth report on 
models 30.50 and 60: 
(^; DOS 3.3; 14 power- 
ful portables; Laser 
printers; Add-in boards; 
On-line thesaurus; Multi- 
Mate Advantage II. Ze- 
nith’s eaZy pC; Eureka; 
Atlas*6raphjcs; NEW PC 
After Hours and FREE 
Pop-Up Stenographer 
and more! 


6^3«7-THEN£WU)OK 
IN DATA BACKUP- 
Hands-on reviews of 
Small Cassettes and Big 
WORMS; A guide to 
Backup alternatives; 
Word f^ocessor-to-Word 
Processor Conversions; 
FREE EGA color extender; 
Turn your PC into a FAX 
machine; Turbo utilities; 
Zero slot LANs; Build 
your own pop-up alarm 
and more! 


6/9/87-HARD DISKS. 
Reviews of hot. high 
capacity drives: Best 
Upgrade Bargains: Paul 
Somerson on Hard Disk 
Secrets and Shortcuts; 8 
Real window applica- 
tions; IBM's PS/2 Model 
60; Commodore's PCIO- 
2; Saba's Handscan; Ac- 
tor; FREE Repeats Utility; 
Turbocharging BASIC 
part 2 and more! 


5/26/87-IBM's BOLD 
NEW UNE-NEW GRAPH- 
ICS: NEW BUS. NEW DOS. 
NEW SIZE; genera- 
tion workstations; How 
the Lotus Lawsuit affects 
you; 10 ultra-high res 
Graphics Boards; FREE 
Lotus-style menu Q.W. 
page. 19 of the best 
books on personal com- 
puting; and more! 


5/12/87-COMMUNI- 
CATIONS-PC labs tests 
87 modems; Sorting 
through on-line data- 
bases; 9 E-mail services 
that mean business; 
FREE jazz up your DOS 
screen utility; Turbo- 
charging BASIC part 1; 
QuickBASIC; 4Word; 
Dragnet; GRiDlite; 
AutoSwitch EGA 480 
Card; dBXb and more! 


4/28/87-SECURITY- 
PROTECT TOUR PC: 13 
LANs Compard; Best 
Backup Software; Laser 
Printer Special— 5 Under 
$3,000, 24 Laser Utili- 
ties; 9 Printer-sharing 
Devices: TWO FREE PRO- 
GRAMS— System 
Checker and DOS Sound 
effects: lO-MHz Com- 
puters-High Speed Low 
Risk; Starfixer: Halo DPE 
and more! 


4/14/87-12 MEGA- 
HERTZ AND BEYOND. 
WHAT PRICE SPEEO?- 
Numbercninching like a 
main frame; Become a 
WbrdRerfect power user; 
f^p-up directory within 
any application-, 3Com's 
Ethernet and Token Ring; 
Reviews of Compaq Fbrt- 
able III; Measure; Goal 
Solutions a 1-2-3 add-in; 
and more! 



3/31/87-PC LABS 
TESTS 18 EGA and 
MUUISCAN MONITORS; 
Reviews of 9 space sav- 
ing PCs; 5 software 
options to expand mem- 
ory-. Managing mail lists. 
25 first-class releases 
are reviewed: NEW FEA- 
TURE-CONNECTIVITY; 
RapidFile; TrueBASIC 
2.0; GEM Draw Plus; and 
more! 



3/10/87-POWER 
GRAPHICS FOR BUSI- 
NESS; 44 Spreadsheets 
that Supercharge your 
Spreadsheet Graphics; 
Animation Made Easy; 
PC Slides; Reviews of 
TurboBASIC; Early Tax; 
The Tax Advantage; 
Sharp’s PC-7100 and 
more. 



2/24/87-HAL 1-2-3: 
ADDING EASE AND 
POWER TO LOTUS 1-2-3: 
16 Full Featured Word 
Processors Under $100-, 
80286 Based XTs;20 
DOS Enhancing Utili- 
ties; AT Update; Epson's 
Equity III Plus; PC Secu- 
rity Modems; Orchid 
Technology's PC Net and 
more. 



2/10/87-DESKTOP 
PUBUSKING: HANDS-ON 
REVIEWS OF-Pagema- 
ker, PFS: ClickArt, Har- 
vard Professional. Front 
Page. Ventura Publisher; 
PC Labs Tests 5 Low- 
Cost Integrated Pack- 
ages; 9 Affordable AT 
Compatibles: 14 State- 
of-the-Art Hard Disk 
Cards; The IBM PCM; 
and more. 



1/27/87-TOP DRAW 
DATABASES-DataEase. 
RiBASE System V.dBASE 
III Plus. PFS:Profes- 
sional File, PowerBase, 
Q&A; PC Magazine's 
3rd Annual Awards for 
Technical Excellence: 
Double Ybur Directories: 
Views on the Perfect Lap- 
Top: FREE Word Counter 
Program; AT MultiFunc- 
tion Boards and more. 



1/13/87-THE BEST OF 
1986— 3rd Annual Best 
& Worst Editor's Per- 
sonal Picks: The AT 
Clone from IBM; IBM 
Token Ring Report Card: 
Removable Hard Disks 
—3 Bernoulli Challeng- 
ers; Electronic Thesauri; 
Multi Dimensional 
Spreadsheets; CAD at 
Any Price: MSR: A New 
Approach to Software 
Support and more. 



12/23/86-MORE 
POWER FOR PORTABLES 
—6 Hardworking Lap- 
Tops; AT&T's StarLAN; 
FREE Security program; 
Animate Your Presenta- 
tions; NEWVIEWS-An 
Accounting Break- 
through; Multiport 
Serial Cards; Freelance 
Plus and more. 


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□ l2«3/86 


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After Hours 



The Leading Role in a 
Spy Thriller: Border 
Zone Presents Three 
Possible Missions 

BY GUS VENDITTO 
Interactive fiction has taken 
more than its share of knocks. 
Legions of the curious have 
tried a game or two, only to 
emerge from their adventures 
cursing and frustrated. The 
games didn't understand the 
language of the uninitiated, and 
so the uninitiated stayed that 
way. 

Maybe this failure to com- 
municate owes more to the sub- 
ject of those games than the log- 
ic needed to understand them. 

That logic is not beyond 
most people. These games pre- 
sent threatening situations and 
invite you to save yourself by 
barking out commands to the 
game. Deducing each game's 
quirky reasoning is simply a 
mutter of patience: try anything, 
but learn from your mistakes. 

Until now. interactive fic- 
tion has grown under the blan- 
ket of fantasy and science fic- 
tion. Star Trek and other space 
jaunts have lent their mystiques 
to "destroy-the-alien" adven- 
tures; The Lurking Horror 


treads through H. P. Love- 
craft's dark territory; and Zork 
dwells in damp dungeons haunt- 
ed by wizards and elves. 

Everyone enjoys a good sto- 
ry. but many of us are unwilling 
to venture into a land of dun- 
geons and dragons, no matter 
how many thrills await. 

Border Zone, frominfocom, 
has hit upon exactly the right 
scenario for an interactive nov- 
el: an Eastern European espio- 
nage nest. You deliver secret 
documents in clandestine meet- 
ings and then get out of the 
country, while the police hover 
nearby. The rules are familiar 
only to those who grew up with 
James Bond and "Mission Im- 
possible": for example, trust no 
one, never say more than you 
have to. and be ready to make a 
quick exit. 

It was written by Marc Blank 
(which has got to be a nom de 
keyboard), the author of Zork. 
If you’re going to read a spy 
novel . it might as well be one of 
John Le Carre's, and if you're 
going to try interactive fiction, 
you might as well start with 
Marc Blank's latest. 

Several hours after I boarded 
the train in Border Zone's Frob- 
nia. I solved my first challenge: 
sneaking a document past ma- 
chine-gun-toting police and 
passing it on to a Russian double 
agent. ProKey helped cut down 
on repetitive typing ("Walk 
North" "Walk South"). I used 
about 80 percent of the hints that 


>Ulie gff boot! 

fou Uhe tit tW pair of knee-boot* «nd pat Dnn on tb* 9raan4. 
Ike aoua4s of tke aatonobile fni* Into U« niilit «lr. 


i>]ait on uork ■hoe* 

tou ret on the r*lF of eorii thoe*. 


» hoar 4 pack of ioft off to Ik* MelkuMt. 


Border /jinc 
umu'- lUhi \ou 
res/Kmtl 
yi'u'll nffiiiO' 
ml (vneentra- 
tton tit cIihU' 
the ihrir \\n- 
c hranizeti 
icuri hii^hts 
tlmi rhf name 
t.\ /intini! in 
ihmireni. 


“Ouina Gotcha" and Other Required 
Phrases 

Border Zone does not require proficiency in Frobnian (the lan- 
guage of the fictitious ^tem bloc state where Border Zone 
takes place), but '*! Am Frobnia: Fortunate Tourists Guide and 
Phrasebook*' is one of the game’s delights. Among other tips, it 
reports that there is no translation for "Please” or "You're wel- 
come.” Practice dialogue sessions usually conclude with Ouzna 
gotcha ("You’re under arrest”). 

Hello Pimsna 

My name is . . . Rizayorp . . . 

I am horn . . . Intz kern . . . 

Where are you from? Kapkiadni? 

What is your . . . Snim pH . . . 
blood type? corpzim? 
age? heriznip? 
potato ration? viski huritz? 

Copyrigbl 1987 iRfocom Inc.: itphiNed with penniuiaa. 


the game reluctantly divulges, 
started to rely on the deep pool 
of sneaky habits 1 had acquired 
as a youth but thought were now 
in remission, and became com- 
pletely absorbed. Two more 
chapters were waiting. 

The hints are another rca.son 
why Border Zone may appeal to 
many who have shunned inter- 
active fiction. You don’t have to 
pay extra for clues to the game's 
logic, just type Hints from the 
command line, and then repeat 
your request even after the game 
takes a parental attitude and 
tries to warn you off. On-line 
hints are long overdue in inter- 
active fiction, and this ought to 
be the beginning of a trend. 

With the first of three legs 
complete, it's a good time to 
take in the game's printed mat- 
ter: (he lavishly illustrated pam- 
phlet "I Am Frobnia: Fortunate 
Tourists Guide and Phrase- 
book" (see sidebar ‘"Ouzna 
Gotcha’ and Other Required 
Phrases"); a map of the terrain 
near the border; an ornate busi- 
ness card from a local merchant; 
and a matchbook, compliments 
of Frobnia's railway (if we can 
deduce anything about the rail- 
way service from the quality of 
the matches, expect your train 
to be delayed). 

The rich detail in these sou- 
venirs adds to the Interactive 


feeling. Only the map proves 
useful (in chapter 2). but the 
phrasebook enriches the atmo- 
sphere. It gives Border Zone a 
sense of mission, unlike other 
games where you sometimes 
wonder if anybody, other than 
the head programmer, ever real- 
ly knew what was going on. 

Chapter 2 creates a good 
chase that rises to edge-of-your- 
seat urgency at the climax. 
You’ll need total concentration 
to elude the beams of the three 
searchlights (hat constitute one 
of the final hurdles at the Frob- 
nian border. 

You play different roles in 
each chapter, and since your 
goals in the first two are 
straightforward, you’ll hardly 
care. But chapter 3 is full of plot 
twists and double agents. I felt a 
little cheated that the work 1 had 
done in the first two chapters 
wouldn't help here. 

But. hey. the life of a spy is 
thankless. Your only satisfac- 
tion comes when a mission is 
accompIi.shed. And when your 
logic is understood. 

List Price: BorderZtme, $39.95. 
Requires: I92K RAM. one disk 
drive, DOS 2.0 or later. Not copy 
protected. Infocom Inc.. 125 
Cambridge Park Dr. . Cambridge. 
MA 02140; (800)262-6868. 

CIRCLE 636 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
374 



The Ad Lib Personal Computer Music 
System. At last you have what it takes to 
make great-sounding music. 

The Ad Lib Personal Computer Music 
System. Includes the Ad Lib Music Synthe- 
sizer Card, Juke Box playback software, free 
Visual Composer software with 50 pre-set 
instrument sounds and Composition 
Projects#! $245.00 

Enhance your system further with this 
additional Ad Lib software: 


Now create superb sounding ^RL|) \ 
music on your IBM * PC. 

Ad Lib'" makes it easy. Mf I 

Just when you thought you’d i 

heard it all, along comes 

And with it comes rich, * 

room-filling music like 
you've never heard from a 
PC before. With rumbling 
bass, crystal clear highs, up- " 
front mid-range. All of it composed 
and performed on the first complete PC 
music system for people like you — long 
on desire, a little short on experience. 

The heart of the system is the 
Ad Lib Music Synthesizer Card;“ p 

An electronic sound synthe- 
sizer based on the same digital^ ^ ' 
technology found in professional 
keyboards and the finest music computers. 

Just plug it into your PC and get clean, 
powerful music through high fidelity head- 
phones, bookshelf speakers, even your 
home stereo. It'll handle up to eleven differ- 
ent instrument sounds playing at once, so 
it's perfect for anything from a solo to a ^ 
symphony. ^ 

There's also Ad Lib Visual Composer,™ is 
about the most instinctive composition ^ 
software ever devised. Simply draw 
lines to indicate notes, using the on- 
screen piano keyboard as a guide. 

Change instruments, tempo and 
volume with a couple of keystrokes. 

Cut, copy and paste portions of your 
music in a snap. 

Included with the program is Composition 
Projects™#!, a step-by-step guide to 
creating all kinds of music, including classi- 
cal, jazz, bossa nova, ragtime, and more. 
Just the thing for an ever-expanding 
repertoire. 

Visual Composer is worth $89.95 if 
purchased separately, but it's yours J 
free when you buy the system. 

Then play back all of your crea- 
tions, as well as several pre- 
programmed selections, on 
the Juke Box™ playback soft- 
ware, also included with your system. 

Look for the Ad Lib Personal Computer 
Music System™ at selected computer and 
music stores, or order direct from Ad Lib 
with your check. Visa or MasterCard. 


Music Championship ™#1 — Basic Con- 
cepts. Learn to identify basic musical con- 
cepts, including tempo, mode, rhythm and 
key. Perfect for all ages. The first in a series 
of music training programs combining syn- 


Instrument 

^ software. 

create and 
save new 
instrument 

sounds for use with Visual Composer. Alter 
23 sound characteristics like attack, sustain 
and decay. Modeled after professional 

.$49.95 


music synthesizer software 

Look for more Ad Lib music software 
titles coming soon. 

Requires IBM PC. )(T, AT o 
RAM, CGA,EGA,orMGA 

For the name of your near- 
est dealer and a free 
demonstration recording, 
or to place an order, call 
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AdLib 


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CIRCLE 250 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



After Hours 


GAMES 


J 


Be Careful Out There: Police Quest 
Plays It by the Book 


BYNEILJ.RUBENKING 
Did you ihink that computer ad- 
venture games were strictly for 
fantasy and science-fiction 
buffs? Does bashing monsters 
and stealing treasures leave you 
cold? Perhaps you‘d rather read 
Mickey Spillane than Isaac Asi- 
nH)v? Then l<K)k at this — Sierra 
Online has created a computer 
adventure game I'oryou. 

Police Qucsl lakes place not 
in fantasyland or outer space, 
but in the small town of Lytlon. 
California. Your character is an 
ordinary policeman, and the 
monsters he faces range from 
petty criminals to major drug 
dealers. You first must learn to 
follow proper procedure: what 
to pick up from your hKker, 
where to go for morning brief- 
ings. and the correct way to en- 
ter your patrol car. 

If you can manage to keep 
your cool and follow proper 
procedure — for instance, when 
writing a traffic ticket for a rav- 
ishing hninctle (the game aims 


AFTER HOURS ■ 
INDEX I 

Border Zone 
Interactive espionage be- 
hind the Iron Curtain 
Project: Space Station 
Puls you in command of the 
space program 
Daily Features 
Starling the day with a smile 
(iod speed and 
Bookmaster Bible 
Searching through the Bible 


to simulate all aspects of police 
behavior, from locker-riKim hu- 
mor to male-chauvinist preju- 
dices). you'll advance to more- 
diftlcull situations. Eventually 
you'll go undercover to break 
the drug ring that's poisoning 
Lyiion’.s youth, by confronting 
the much-dreaded "Death An- 
gel" himself. 

The game comes with a 
street map of Lytlon and a Po- 
liceman's Indoctrination Guide 
(P.I.G.). This guide is the Po- 
lice Qucsl player's bible: all the 
police procedures you need are 
laid out in the P.I.G., and you 
must follow them exactly to 
succeed. Caught a car thief? 
Quick, check the Felony Traffic 
Slop Procedures and follow the 
six steps (which include culling 
for backup and ordering the sus- 
pect to "lie facedown on the 
ground"). If you omit steps or 
make a mistake (like being late 
for morning briefing), you have 
to start over. 

Unlike other adventure 
games. Police Qucsl has a plot 
that priKeeds with the passing 
of lime. Often you simply cruise 
in your patrol car waiting for 
something to happen. You gain 
points by following proper pro- 
cedures in handling the situa- 
tions that come up. If you make 
a major blunder, like letting a 
prisoner grab your gun. you'll 
die and will have to start a new- 
game to gel another chance. 
However, you can fail in minor 
ways and merely lose points. As 
a result, it's possible to play and 
replay Police Qucsl — trying to 
get all the possible points. Only 
by following your guidebook to 
the letter will you be able to gel 



the maximum .score. 

Police Quest ships t>n three 
5'/4-inch floppies and two ^'/z- 
inch floppies, a nice touch for 
all those officers who will be pa- 
trolling their beats with PS/2s. 
And. in a move wc hope to see 
repealed by other companies. 
Sierra Online is shipping Police 
Quest and two other new games 
without copy protection. A Si- 
erra spokesman said that addi- 
tional Sierra products will ship 
without copy protection if this 
experiment goes well. 

Adventure games are be- 
coming more and more like in- 
teractive movies. Now that 
some game companies arc 
breaking out of the sclcnce-fic- 
tion/fantasy mold, we can ex- 
pect even greater variety in their 


scope of subject matter. 

Police Quest is great fun for 
people who'd enjoy the fantasy 
of being cop for a day. Stay 
away if you're offended by off- 
color humor. But if you're di.s- 
appointed by the CGA-levcl 
graphics in most PC games, 
check out this game on an EGA 
or VGA to see state-of-the-art 
PC animation. 

List Prkei Police Quest. S49.y.S. 
Requires: 2.^6K RAM. one disk 
drive, graphics adapter (EGA. 

CGA. Hercules. VGA. MCGA; 
EGA or better recommended). 

DOS 2.0 or later. Not copy 
protected. Sierra Online. P.O. Box 
485. Coarscgold. CA 93614: (209) 
683-4468. 


CIRCLE 670 ON READER SERVICE CARD 


Dragnet Comes to the Small Screen 

The city: Lytlon. California. It's a peaceful town, a fictitious 
place, created by Sierra Online for Police Quest. It's much like 
any other small California town. In fact, it's very much like the 
town where Jim Walls patrolled for 15 years. 

He's retired now. but recently Walls sat dt)wn with two pro- 
grammers and mapped out a story line for Police Que.st. He filled 
in the dialogue and spelled out the proper procedures and regula- 
tions followed by police officers everywhere. The idea was to re- 
create the environment of a small-lown police force. 

Walls agreed to pose for a photograph for the game's cover, 
but he wouldn’t reveal the town where he wore his badge. 

Protecting the innocent, of course. — Gus Venditto 


PC MAGAZINE ■ MARCH2 9. 1988 
376 





Work like this 
doesn’t just happen 

j LKXS RADIOGRAPHY OPERATING GROUP 

Review of Operations 


During 1987, the LKXS radiography 
companies pressed Forward vigorously with a 
series of product introductions and marketing 
programs derigoed to transform LKXS into a 
'iiew business* ^ded for continued growth in 
both the increasingly competitive U5. biotech- 
nology field and (he emerpng biotechnology 
market worldwide. 

Profits Up in Growth Year 

Throu^out 1987, employees worked 
diligently to improve current product quality, 
control operating costs, and provide outstanding 
customer service. As a result, LKXS recorded its 
best profit year ever despite substantial 
expenditures to develop and introduce the Model 
NR2. 


Sales/CniM/lBCcMe 



I Salci G Con I tnc. 

To foster continued growth in overseas markets, 
wc opened subsidiaries in Japan and Hong Kong. 


These commitments have already paid off 
with international sales accounting for 7% of 
total revenues. Next year, we expect a strong 
showing as these subsidiaries continue to 
establish themselves. 


19S7 Revenues by Aren 

(Dollars in millions) 

REGION 

AMOLW 

PliRCltW 

Northwest 

$.W3 

.15% 

Midwest 

$2885 

29% 

New York 

$ 1094 

11% 

New En^and 

$ 1088 

11% 

Southwest 

$ 713 

7% 

Int'i 

S 633 

7% 

TOTAL 

$9846 

100% 


To make sure wc slay closely in touch with 
our customers, in 1987 the LKXS companies 
expanded (heir cu.slomer scnicc areas by 20%, 
spending S25 million to train their account man- 
agement personnel. 

Model NR^ is a Success 


The introduction of the Model NR^ is a 
good example of our success in pressing 
technology forward and communicating the 
benefits of this new technology to hospitals and 
research institutes around the wculd. 

LKXS representatives introduced the Model 
NR^ at m^or conferences in the field, both in 
the United States and overseas, to an 


Review of Operations 


pagel 




PC 

MAG 





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Microsoft u a icKislercd trademark of Microsoft Corporation. IBM is a tesisiered trademark of Interrtalional Business Machines Corporation.